


Taking Chances

by ChaseHaze (Maogrim)



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: A very expensive glass of Chardonnay, Alternate Universe - No Time Travel, Bikini - Freeform, Closets, Diners, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Roadtrip, Seattle, Walks On The Beach, chasefield
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2019-08-11 10:39:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 26,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16473983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maogrim/pseuds/ChaseHaze
Summary: Max Caulfield has returned to Arcadia Bay to visit the prestigious Blackwell Academy. Although she is a gifted photographer and a generally nice human being she gets bullied, like so many others, by Blackwell's queen bee, Victoria Chase. After surviving her first semester without getting in too much trouble she meets her nemesis in the parking lot on a sunny day in early July. Everything seems to go its usual route, when Victoria suddenly makes a suggestion and a startled Max decides to take a chance.In this alternate universe Max has no time travel powers, the bathroom incident did not happen and she never reconciled with Chloe.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This piece is or will be my very first attempt at writing fanfic or writing fiction in general. I played LiS and LiS - BtS and really fell in love with Arcadia Bay and (most) of its characters (Except you, Mark!). I'm trying to stay faithful to the characters within the confines of this work's targeted events but should something make absolutely no sense at all...- please let me know!
> 
> In general, every bit of encouragement and constructive criticism is very much appreciated as I really want to finish this but usually have a hard time keeping myself constantly motivated. Please bear in mind that English is not my first language, so if something sounds strange, clunky or downright ugly, please let me know! :)
> 
> Thank you for enduring this lengthy and in parts whiny introduction. I hope you will have as much fun reading as I had writing this.

### Chapter 1

I wish that I could be like the cool kids  
'Cause all the cool kids, they seem to fit in  
I wish that I could be like the cool kids  
Like the cool kids  
_Echosmith – Cool Kids_  
   
Max Caulfield held her breath as she carefully approached the animal on the hood of the car. It was a late afternoon on a summer's day in Arcadia Bay. Probably one of the happier days for Blackwell's students as it was Friday before Independence Day weekend. The weather was mild and pleasant and the sun gave the cat's rather dirty blonde fur a golden shimmer. To Max it was almost kind of magical. That kind of magic her Polaroid simply screamed to capture. The cat on the hood observed its environment through sleepy green eyes and something about this look had an arrogant, almost royal quality about it. Max just had to catch this moment, this look, this little lion ruling its parking lot kingdom. Come on buddy, just a few more inches, she thought, as she slowly sneaked closer. Suddenly a noise broke the silence. The cat opened its eyes wide, jumped off the car and was gone, all in the blink of an eye. Max closed her eyes in disappointment and sighed quietly before she rose from her kneeling position and turned around to see what exactly had scared away her object of desire.

The noise had been caused by a suitcase which was being pulled rather forcefully over the concrete. And the owner of the suitcase was none other than Victoria Maribeth Chase, Blackwell Academy's resident queen bee and alpha bitch, or model student and shining example, depending on whom one asked. 

_Is there anything in this world that Victoria doesn't manage to spoil?_ Max asked herself. 

Almost all of the students had already left a few hours ago to go home and visit their friends and families. Max had decided to stay a while to enjoy the unfamiliar atmosphere that the empty school grounds would provide and to take a few pictures. She had texted her mom that she would probably come home too but hadn't told her when. It was only Friday and the 4th was a Monday, so there was still plenty of time.

Victoria didn't wear one of her trademark pencils skirts but black slacks and a sleeveless burgundy blouse, accompanied by stylish white high heeled sandals, in which she walked effortlessly. She looked expensive and her blonde pixie cut was immaculate as always. But something about her expression was different than usual. There was none of the cool and degrading confidence she usually showed towards her peers.

_She kinda looks ... sad?! Is that even possible?_ Max thought. 

She couldn't really tell why - Victoria and her weren't excactly the best of friends, quite the opposite - but Max felt the urge to say something. Something nice. She felt her heart beating a bit faster and clenched her fist but then she let it out. "Hey Victoria!" 

The blonde with the suitcase gasped and froze for a second. Obviously she hadn't noticed Max standing about seven yards to her left but she quickly caught her composure and shot an annoyed glance at Max. "Max. What do you want?" she asked in a rather bored tone. 

But there was something else in it. Maybe a hint of suspicion. Max suddenly felt anxious about the dorky pink shirt she wore. The one that said 'Jane' with a picture of a doe right next to the word. Max loved that shirt but suddenly she was afraid that Victoria might make fun of it. She rubbed her neck nervously and began to answer. "Um...I...I just wanted to wish you a nice holiday with your family. That's all I guess." 

But Victoria didn't react the way Max had hoped or even anticipated. She narrowed her eyes and her cheeks turned a slight bit red. "Oh, is that so?" she asked and her tone was sharp enough to cut through solid stone. "Fuck. You. Max." she added angrily. "Why don't you go and choke on your sarcasm?" 

Max felt like someone had punched her in the stomach and she even took a step backwards and raised her hands in a defensive manner. She was almost used to being talked down to or being made fun of by the posh blonde but she had never seen Victoria this aggressive.

"I ..I...didn't mean to..." she began stuttering, desperately wishing she hadn't said anything. But Victoria simply sighed dramatically and rubbed her temple like she had a serious headache before storming of towards her fancy car. Max felt miserable. What did she say that deserved such a reaction? But while she could hear Victoria's engine starting she slowly began to recollect herself.

_Calm down, Max. She's just a bully. Learn your lesson and stop trying to be nice to mean people._

She certainly had better things to do than feeling bad because of Victoria Chase. She would just focus on spending her day as enjoyable as possible before eventually packing her things and leaving for the train to Seattle. Maybe she could go to the beach and see if something caught her eye? Sure, lots of people took photos of seagulls, shells, waves and the like but Max never tried to be special. If she saw something she liked she'd take a photo. 

_Maybe I should also grab something to eat_ , she thought as she started walking, but then she noticed something strange. Victoria's car hadn't left and the motor wasn't running anymore. Probably just texting, she thought and tried not to care. 

But then the car's door opened and she heard Victoria's voice calling her: "Max!"

Nothing more. Max put her Polaroid back into her old messenger bag before slowly approaching the car. Why did she even do this? Victoria was probably simply not done with insulting her, something like that. Arms crossed before her chest she walked closer and asked: "What is it? If you want to tell me to fuck myself again, don't bother. I got it the first time." She tried to sound cool and as if she didn't care but she still felt a bit miserable and she was bad at hiding it. Why was Victoria so incredibly good at hurting her feelings, even after almost a year? 

The blonde looked at her from the inside of her expensive car and answered: "Yeah, no. Forget about that, Max." she said, slightly waving her hand as if she didn't have time for petty stuff like that.  
"Listen. Are you going back home for the weekend, like everyone else? Your parents live in Seattle, right?" Before Max could answer she turned her head and looked straight through her front window. "I could probably give you a ride. Or, provided the case that you don't wanna go home right away, you could also come hang out at my place."

This was the second time today that Victoria Chase had given her a verbal gut punch, but this time Max felt genuine surprise instead of sadness or anger. _Did Victoria Maribeth Chase just ask a loser like me to hang out?_ She blinked a few times as if she wasn't sure whether she was actually awake or not. "Um...Jeez, Victoria, are you cereal?! I mean I...always thought you kinda hated me." 

Victoria tapped her fingertips on the steering wheel in front of her impatiently. "I'm always serious, Max. Let's not make a fuss about this, kay? Time's money and this is pretty much a one-time offer. So what do you say?"

Could this really be happening? Max didn't have a single clue where the sudden change of attitude in Victoria came from but maybe this was a chance. Maybe they could talk and Victoria would get over all of this alpha bitch nonsense and finally act like a normal human being towards her. Maybe they might even become friends...but that was probably far too high a hope. But still better than what they were going through before. Sure, in her familiar surroundings at the Chase's house Victoria could always simply return to her old self and start picking on Max again, but if things turned out that way she'd already be in Seattle and therefore just a bus ride away from home. It wasn't like Victoria Chase hated her enough to lock her in a dark room and torture her or something like that. So leaving was always an option. After seconds that felt like hours she tried a little smile and took a heart. 

"I wasn't going to go take the train before Sunday, so...yeah, sure, let's hang out!" she answered.

Victoria turned her head back in Max' direction and there was also the hint of a smile on her face. "Great." she said. "Then go and grab your stuff, I'll wait here. Aaand we've got an indoor pool, so you might wanna bring a bikini, or a dorky 'Legend of Zelda' bathing suit, or whatever you've got for swimming." 

"Very funny, Victoria." Max said and rolled her eyes, but she wasn't really hurt or annoyed by the posh girl's joke. She could clearly tell that Victoria's tone had somewhat lacked the sharp edge which she usually applied when she intended to hurt someone. So she didn't really mind the playful insult and just made her way back to the girls' dormitory. 

She felt strange while she slowly walked through the unusually quiet hallway of the building. It was built in 1998 by the incredibly rich Prescott family, who seemed to be involved in more or less all of Arcadia Bay's economic or academic business. One member of the family, Nathan, also went to Blackwell. He was spoiled, arrogant and had a short temper, but also a great eye for dark and melancholic pictures. He was Victoria's best friend or something, which had also been a good reason to stay out of his way. 

Max tried to guess how many students must have walked through this hallway in the fifteen years since this dormitory was finished. So many young lifes, all with their own hopes, dreams and fears, and all went on to other places. It made her feel a bit small and insignificant. Who could say what her life held in store for her? She reached her room, 219, which was directly opposite to Victoria's room, which had number 221. She looked at the slate next to Victoria's door. It had a quote by Ghandi on it: 'Be the change you want to see in the world'. Max had cringed at this quote since the first day she met the posh blonde and Victoria had erased and reused it several times.The line felt dishonest, hypocritical and straight up phony when coming from someone that shallow and mean. Except Victoria, in all honesty, actually wanted to make the world worse. And now she, Max Caulfield, geek, dork and ‚selfie whore‘, according to Victoria, was going to spend the weekend with that excact person. She slowly shook her head in disbelief, turned around and opened the door to her own room. The slate next to her own room didn't say anything. She hadn't been able to come up with something that she considered to be either funny enough or that walked the fine line between meaningful and pretentious.

It was nice and bright in here due to the two windows and although it was a bit cooler than on the outside Max immediately felt at home, which was special considering the fact that it was just a dorm room. Lisa, her potted plant looked green and happy and quite lively. Max took a few steps and squatted in front of the plant. 

"How are you, Lisa?" She asked while fondly looking at her green friend. But she didn't actually give her time to answer but went on right away: "I'm going on a trip this weekend so you'll have the room to yourself. Take good care of our favorite cocoon, okay?" She poured some water from a plastic bottle into Lisa's blue, name-tagged pot. "Drink up, dear." Max was certain that she gave Lisa the appropriate amount of water to make it through the next few days. She definitely didn't want her to dehydrate or to drown.

As she looked around her room for a moment Max' eye fell on the guitar with the four white butterfly stickers on it. Should she take it with her? She knew she wasn't a musical genius or anything, but her parents and friends like Kate Marsh or Warren Graham had always enjoyed her playing. Or at least they pretended to... Max shrugged and reached for the instrument. She didn't have to play it, if she wasn't in the mood to but it was certainly better to be prepared if she was.

_Right, now on to clothes._

Fortunately she didn't really need to pack her suitcase because she had already taken care of that when she was still planning to go to her parent's place and she wouldn't need a lot of stuff for one weekend to begin with. "Okay, as long as Victoria doesn't plan to schlep me to some fancy club or something I should be settled." Max muttered to herself.

Just a swimsuit was missing so she pulled open a drawer of her wardrobe and searched for it beneath the clothes she usually wore when she had to do sports. After some rummaging around she found what she was looking for: a one-piece swimsuit in navy blue with white stripes. It had been a while since she went swimming so it was probably a bit tight by now but it should be good enough. At least she hoped so. Victoria was probably still going to make fun about it for being plain or boring or cheap or something and Max wasn't looking forward to that, but it was the only one she had. Max herself even found it a bit daring because it was a little high-cut but she always thought she looked nice in it, and definitely not in a slutty way. 

_Anyway, I don't have to take a swim if I don't want to_ , she thought. 

There was always the possibility to just say "Thanks. But no thanks" if she didn't feel comfortable enough. Sure, denying Victoria Chase wouldn't be easy but even Blackwell's queen bee couldn't force her to do something she didn't feel like doing, right? 

A few minutes later Max walked back into the parking lot and mentally prepared herself for this very strange weekend she had herself coming. If it was even possible to prepare yourself for the unexpected. Victoria wasn't sitting in her car but lent against it while smoking a cigarette and looking at the blue sky. Max had always thought that smoking was pretty disgusting. She didn't like the smell nor the consequences for one's health. Besides, that money going up in flames could surely be better spend elsewhere. _For example on bacon! But that might be bad for your health too..._

Despite her negative stance on smoking she had to admit one thing: Victoria pulled it off really well. The way her she held the cigarette between fore- and middle finger, the way she leant against the car, the way she slightly tilted her head back when exhaling the smoke between her lips – all of it just emanated elegance and coolness. Max could feel her heart beating a little bit faster.

_I have probably never looked that cool in my entire life_ , she thought. _And Victoria isn't even trying. She's just smoking a cigarette._

In that moment Victoria turned her head in Max' direction and lazily waved at her. She raised an eyebrow as she saw the guitar on the brunette's back. Max took a deep breath and walked towards her. There was probably no turning back now, but there was still one small thing she felt she had to do. Well, maybe not that small.

"Hi. Ready to go, Caulfield?", Victoria asked as soon as Max had closed the distance between them. 

"Yeah, I guess.", Max answered with a shy and nervous smile. She started to rub the back of her neck as it was her habit when she felt uncomfortable. "But...", she began, sighed and started again, while Victoria looked at her, cigarette between her fingers and a look of curiosity and mild amusement on her face.

"Victoria, there's...there's one thing I kinda need you to do before we go."

The rich girl's small smile froze and she raised a slim blonde eyebrow. "Alright. And what would that be, Max?" 

Again Max felt intimidated. How she wished that she could simply run away or rewind time instead of having to deal with this. But despite her friendly and sensitive self she did have a sense of pride and she didn't want to be treated like a punching bag for a spoiled teeanger's moods. So she mustered all her courage and said what she felt she had to say: 

"Victoria, I need you to apologize for what you said earlier. You know...the 'fuck you'."

There. It was out. She had demanded an apology from Victoria Maribeth Chase who had probably never apologized for anything in her whole life. Victoria's smile slowly vanished and she stared at her brunette counterpart for a moment before she sighed and closed her eyes.

"You want an apology? Sure, why not?!" the posh blonde began, and Max was absolutely certain that she was going to insult her again instead. "You tried to be nice or polite or something. But I was majorly pissed off, you got in my way and so I took it out on you. I guess that wasn't particularly fair so I'll apologize. I'm sorry, Max."

Victoria said this in a rather neutral, matter-of-fact way which didn't make her apology feel especially heart-warming. But at least she said it with a straight face instead of the sly little smile she usually employed when she made fun of someone. Max felt some relief, a small kind of victory, though it hadn't been her goal to make Victoria lose in any shape or form. She had just felt that she owed herself that much if she was indeed going to take the blonde's offer and spend the weekend with her. 

Victoria took a last drag from her cigarette, dropped it and grinded the butt under her high heel with astonishing precision. She exhaled and a thin smile appeared on her face. "You're lucky you have those cute freckles, Caulfield. Or else I'd have probably told you to fuck off." There was a strange sparkle in her green eyes as she said that.

_That was a joke, right?!_

"Um...thank you?! I guess?!" Despite the fact that she knew it was a joke, Max felt heat in her cheeks and she knew she was blushing. Inadvertently she started rubbing her neck again. 

The rich girl mildly shook her head and waved her off. "Get over yourself, Max. I was kidding. I meant the apology though." She opened the door of her expensive car and a small whiff of vanilla came out of it. Probably from Victoria's air freshener. Then she took out her car keys and pressed a small button which opened the trunk. "So, everything's cool now? We´re ready to go? You can put your stuff in the trunk." 

That sounded more like an order than a suggestion but Max still complied. This was still Victoria Chase she was dealing with so she should really try to get comfortable with the blonde's little quirks. Being nice and gentle seemed to be extremely difficult for Blackwell's queen bee, even though she was smarter, richer and hotter than pretty much all of her peers. Maybe this was Victoria at her nicest? The weekend would surely provide some opportunities to find that out. At least it was miles better than being insulted.

"Yeah, I'm ready." Max said and tried a cheerful smile. "Let's get this show on the road!".

The two girls got into the car and inadvertently fastened their seatbelts in sync. The interior of Victoria's car was furnished with cream-colored leather and shiny wood... or whatever they used in cars that at least looked like wood. Everything was very clean and there was no speck of dirt or packaging waste of any kind to be found. There was however a bottle of Evian stored in a space in the driver's door. Under the smell of a relatively new car and the air freshener's vanilla scent there was something else. Max tried really hard to identify the smell and thought it might be roses and lavender mixed with something fresh and subtle...perhaps lemon or lime?! Was that the smell of Victoria's perfume? She suddenly noticed that this was the first time today that she had been so close to the other girl that she was able to tell what she smelled like, and in the parking lot there had also been a gentle breeze. It was an interesting scent. Cool and elegant but also feminine and a bit romantic, at least as far as she could tell. 

_Stupid air freshener..._ , Max thought. _I can‘t really_ \- 

"Are you still with me, Max?" Victoria asked, which suddenly snapped her out of her contemplation. 

"Yeah, sure!" she answered quickly and tried not to blush. "I was just admiring the interior of your car. It's really nice!" 

_Shit_ , she thought, _I was totally day-dreaming for a second._

Victoria looked at her bemusedly and then cleared her throat in a rather theatrical fashion. "Thank you. As I was saying...Going up to Seattle will probably take us around five hours, depending on traffic and construction sites." She talked a little faster and waved her hand slightly like a person providing information that their counterpart had probably already guessed. "Taking the route via Portland would safe us half an hour or so, but I'd prefer driving up the coast. We could, for example, make a stop at Rockaway Beach if you'd like to take some cheesy, touristy photos with that relic you call a camera." 

_Jeez, there she goes again_ , Max thought and started to feel tired. Was that the way the whole trip was going to be? She sighed and closed her eyes, but opened them again quickly when she felt Victoria giving her a light smack on the shoulder. 

"Relax, okay? I'm just kidding. If you'd like to go there and take photos we can totally do so and I'll even promise not to make fun of your _equipment_." she said while mimicking quotation marks with her fingers to frame the last word. 

Max looked at her in disbelief for a second, then sighed again and leant back in the comfortable car seat. "I guess I just need some time to get used to your brand of humor."

The blonde just smiled nonchalantly and took a pair of sunglasses from a small storage space next to the steering wheel. They were rather big, had a golden frame and looked pretty expensive, like everything else she wore. "Oh, I'm sure you will. Just don't be such a sensitive plant, Max." she said while she put on her sunglasses.

"Fine." Max answered and brushed back a streak of brown hair. "I will do my best to be less sensitive if you tone down the 'Mean Girls' attitude." 

Victoria looked at her with an expression of mild surprise on her pretty face. "I kinda get the feeling you toughened up a little during the last year or so, Caulfield. Good for you." Then she started the car and they left Blackwell's premises. 

Max looked out out the window while they drove past Arcadia Bay's familiar streets, shops and houses, all looking peaceful and quite pretty in the early evening's golden light. It was easy to forget the Prescotts' destructive influence on the small coastal town and to just enjoy the promise of pleasant summer days by the sea. Beach balls and parasols. Walking on a boardwalk with an ice-cream in your hand. The feeling of sand between your toes while wearing flip-flops. The sound of laughing children and chatting adults. The Beach Boys' 'Surfing USA'. And the smell of sun lotion on skin that had been left pale by Oregon's long winters and was about to be kissed by the sun. But all those images and thoughts slowly disappeared when they came along a certain house in Cedar Avenue, white and fading blue with a rusty old pickup standing in the parking lot. 

_Why didn't I...Why have I never..._


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The previous chapter, as summarized by fellow user LanelLabatDubelais:
> 
> "Victoria took a chance and called back Max, she's interested and now is a good opportunity to get acquainted since nobody else is around to see them together. I like how you portray bitchy, image-conscious Victoria letting down her defenses enough to accommodate Max, even apologizing instead of her usual scathing counterattack. I really liked that wistful regret that Max felt as Victoria drove past Chloe's house and Max spotted that junkyard pickup truck in front of the half-painted house, surely recalling the grief and trauma Max felt when she was forced to leave Arcadia Bay, abandoning her best friend Chloe immediately following William's funeral"
> 
> \--------------------
> 
> Hello again! Thank you for having a look at chapter 2 as well! If you came here for the smut, unfortunately you'll need to be more patient, since this is a really slow burn. ;)
> 
> I apologize to all inhabitants of Oregon, since this is probably not very close to how Rockaway Beach really looks and feels. Maybe I should tag this as "Alternate Universe - Altered Beach" or something...
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing it. The same things apply as in chapter 1: English is not my native language, so should a particular expression or sentence seem weird or clunky or plain wrong, please let me know! :)

### Chapter 2

Save me from drowning in the sea  
Beat me up on the beach  
What a lovely holiday,  
there's nothing funny left to say

_Robbie Williams – Road to Mandalay_

The drive up to Rockaway Beach wasn't a long one. Maybe twenty minutes or so. But Max felt that the ride actually took longer, since neither of the girls spoke a word for the first ten minutes. Shortly after leaving the city limits of Arcadia Bay Victoria had switched on the radio, so at least they had some music to listen to while both of them clung to their own private thoughts. Eminem and Rihanna made friends with a monster, Katy Perry fancied herself to be a magical mare while Pharrell was just happy. 

_Good for you, buddy_ , Max thought. _At least one of us._

Ever since driving past Cedar Avenue Max' mood had went down considerably. But she didn't want to think about it, didn't want to be sad on such a nice and sunny day, so she needed something to distract herself from those thoughts. But of course there wasn't a whole lot to do while sitting in a car except one thing: Talking. Max cleared her throat to start a conversation with the rich girl to her left. Victoria had been completely silent and focused on driving the last ten minutes. 

"So, uhm, Victoria," Max began and tried to sound natural and confident. "There's something I wanted to ask you: Will your parents even agree with me hanging out at your place?" Maybe they wouldn't want to have someone in their house who they didn't know. _Or who's not extremely wealthy._

Victoria turned her head to face Max with an unreadable expression on her face before setting her eyes back on the road in front of her. "Well..." she began but then remained silent. Max waited for a moment, but Victoria didn't continue. 

"Well?" she asked, wondering what this moment of hesitation was about. She hadn't actually tried to ask a tough question or anything. Max had just wanted to do some polite small talk. 

"I'm...a hundred percent positive they won't mind, Max." the blonde finally continued her sentence with a small sigh. "Since they won't even be home for the weekend. They had something coming up and needed to be in New York. A contract signing." 

Victoria sounded impartial, almost disinterested, but Max didn't buy it. She was pretty sure that the tough girl behind the steering wheel was a lot more disappointed than she pretended to be. _That must be why she flipped when I wished her and her family a nice weekend. There wasn't gonna be a family at home when she'd return._

"I'm sorry, Victoria. I'm sure you would have loved to see your parents." Max knew that Victoria usually stayed in Arcadia Bay for the weekends even though her home was just a few hours away.

"I don't give a fuck, to be honest." the blonde girl replied. "The gallery's important and the painter my parents are going to sign will be a pretty big deal in a few years, so I get why they need to be there. And they don't care about Fourth of July anyway." She paused for a moment and continued in a slightly lower voice, her hands clutching the steering wheel firmly. "I can have a good time on my own. No problem." 

Max looked down on her hands. She had overheard a conversation between Courtney and Taylor, Victoria's friends or minions, or maybe both. They had talked about going shopping in Miami during the weekend, and that 'V', as they called her, wouldn't be able to join them. Did all of that mean that Victoria would be completely alone in Seattle for Independence Day?! Surely she had some other friends who still lived there, right? Max herself did have friends there, especially Kristen and Fernando, but she didn't ask what they'd be doing for the weekend because she'd wanted to just be with her family. To be honest, she'd been a bit sloppy at keeping in touch with both of them since she moved back to Arcadia Bay. So she'd decided to keep the weekend a family thing, at least until an hour or so ago.

Max felt that Victoria was hurt by the fact her parents wouldn't be there and again she got the impression that the posh blonde wasn't as tough as she acted. But before she could say anything else Victoria's car turned left and into a larger parking lot that was framed by sandy dunes and bounded by a wooden fence painted in sligthty chipped away blue. Apparently they had already reached their first destination. There were quite a few other cars there which was far from surprising, considering that it was a particularly nice weekend in July. Victoria snorted in an annoyed fashion but managed to park her car after a bit of searching. 

"So, here we are." Victoria said and opened her door.

Max did the same and got out of the car, slightly squinting against the sun. Contrary to Victoria she didn't think of bringing sunglasses. There was a small breeze coming from the sea but it was far from cool. Maybe even a little warmer than in Arcadia Bay although evening was approaching. 

"This sure is a nice summer." Max said smilingly while shielding her eyes with a hand and looking at her slightly taller companion. Victoria looked around the parking lot with her hands on her hips and simply replied: "I guess."

Max took off her gray hoodie and slung it around her waist. She had her messenger bag with her as well, of course containing her trusty Polaroid camera. "Let's go!" she said and started walking in the direction that the green metal sign saying 'Beach' was pointing to. A winding brick path led them through between the dunes and closer to the sound of the Pacific's roaring waves and screaming seagulls. One last turn and they had free view on the sea and the beach.

Even though Max had lived her whole life close to the shore, either in Arcadia Bay or in Seattle, the ocean's majesty had never grown old on her. Sometimes its surface would be calm and almost smooth, gently washing against the shore, while at other times it was wild and untamed like a hungry beast, relentlessly attacking the land. Today the sea was somewhere in between. The waves looked rather big, but not in a dangerous way and while the breeze did blow small streams of sand over the beach it wasn't nearly forceful enough to shoot sand in their eyes as it would sometimes happen when the wind was really strong. A few miles offshore she could see the amazing Twin Rocks, a sandstone formation that was almost a hundred feet high at its peak. The left one of the two rocks was shaped like an arch and probably the reason why the beach was so popular with tourists. With a bit of fantasy Max could easily imagine the rocks to be a petrified sea dragon or something like that. 

And there were quite a people on the beach today as Max had already guessed by the rather full parking lot. There were couples holding hands and strolling along the waterline, groups of teenagers playing with volleyballs or frisbees, and children building sandcastles or splashing around the water while their parents tried to relax on sun loungers or towels. Max didn't mind the fact that it was maybe a little bit crowded. All of the activity exuded life and happiness and she couldn't help but smile. 

The brunette teenager turned around to her blonde companion, who had walked a step behind her, probably being a bit more careful with her high heels on the bricks than Max on her sneakers. As she turned around she caught Victoria unbuttoning the lower part of her blouse and then tying it up into a knot between her chest and her navel. Max' eyes lingered on the other girl's flat stomach and belly button for a moment. _She has really nice skin_ , Max thought. _Not a single spot...not like mine..._ She felt a blush in her cheeks and forced herself to break her gaze away and up to Victoria's face. 

The blonde girl looked at her with a slighty puzzled expression before she narrowed her eyes. "What? It's warm!", she said in an annoyed way. 

"Yeah, sure, I know.", Max hurried to assure her. "I just...didn't know you were the crop top type." Max knew Victoria since last year's September when it hadn't been exactly warm enough, so she usually associated her with cashmere, skirts and pantyhoses.

"Well, I am.", replied Victoria. "When I'm in the mood to. Not that it's anyone's business." 

Max nodded. "I get that. I don't let other people talk into my fashion either."

A little smirk appeared on the other girl's face and for a moment Max was absolutely sure that she was going to say something mean or condescending again. But she didn't and just nodded slowly. 

"Anyways,", Max added and couldn't help but look on her shoes for a second. "I think it looks really nice on you." 

The blonde's smirk turned into a more genuine smile. "Thank you, Max. Sooo...Wanna continue talking fashion or should we go down to the water now?" 

Right after the dunes, on the edge of the beach the bricks ended and a small boardwalk began that stretched onto the sand for another thirty feet. The boards were bleached out by the sun and partly covered with sand. As she reached the end of the small boardwalk Victoria went on one knee and started to open the straps of her sandals.

 _Of course she does,_ Max thought. _Driving a car in these things is impressive enough but walking on sand can't be fun_. Max herself had only worn high heels once in her life and she had considered it pure torture. And her heels hadn't even been as high as Victoria's. Her sneakers would be perfectly fine on the sand but she still took them off as well. Feeling the sand between her toes was going to feel really nice. 

She could feel the excitement slowly growing as she always did, when she knew that a nice shot was probably just around the corner. Catching the beauty or the fun of the moment was pretty much her thing. She turned around to the blonde girl and said: "You don't mind if I go and hunt for some pictures?! I mean...that was what we came here for, right?" 

Victoria was looking around the beach with an almost unreadable, quiet expression. She slowly shook her head. "Nah, no problem. You do you, Max. I'll just take a few steps." Then she sounded a bit more stern as she added: "But keep it short and sweet. It's a long ride up home and I don't wanna get there in the dead of the night. D'accord?".

Max smiled and nodded. "Sure, I get that. Let me just snoop around for half an hour or so and I'll be happy." In all honesty Max would have liked to stay for two or three hours. But the other girl was right and she had to do all the driving alone. _Even if I had a driver's license...I kinda doubt Victoria would let me behind her steering wheel_. The blonde simply nodded in response and began walking towards the water line.

Max took the camera out of her bag and and her smile grew wider as the anticipation rose even more. Just a few feet from her a bunch of teenagers, pretty much her age, if she had to guess, maybe slightly older, were playing volleyball. She didn't wait long and pressed the shutter release just as one of the lean and fit-looking boys was rising into the air to hit he ball and his partner was clapping her hands with a wide grin. Max' camera made the familiar sound and gave her the picture. No waiting, no preview on the display that somewhat distorted the actual results. And the best part was that she immediately had a physical item to stick on a wall, put in an album or give someone as a present. Or just put it in her bag, which was exactly what she was doing now. The photo came out really nicely, at least in her opinion. Just fun and action and young people enjoying themselves. Not everything had to be deep and meaningful art. Sometimes Max was perfectly content with a picture that made her smile and this one did the job. 

She went on, her eyes watching the scenery vigilantly like a hawk searching for prey. It took a few moments. There were lots of people and lots of different situations, like dozens of little plays and dramas happening on a gigantic sandy stage, all at the same time. Some of the precious little moments were over before she was fast enough to aim her camera, like a bottle of soda pretty much exploding in its owner's face because of the carbon dioxide. But the middle-aged man with the small beer belly took it in good spirits and just laughed it off. She walked around for a few more moments with sneakers tied together and dangling over her shoulder, until she saw a little boy with red hair playing in the sand with a small yellow bucket and and an even smaller shovel. There were moments of earnest concentration and pure joy taking turns on his face as he was trying to build a protective wall around his sand castle. But he built it a little too close to the water and every time the tide reached his castle the water took away a piece of his work. Max could imagine that this had to be frustrating, but the little boy was laughing when the water damaged his precious wall and tried to build it a bit sturdier before the sea could attack again. 

Max took a photo and the boy turned around to look where the buzzing sound came from. "Hey there, little buddy!" Max said warmly and waved, but the boy just looked at her with a look of confusion on his face before quickly resuming the work on his castle. "Oh, never mind." Max said to herself. That kid was just too adorable.

A few minutes later she caught two seagulls fighting over what appeared to be a sand-coated pancake. Each of them was pulling on the mushy piece of dough with their beaks from opposite sides while flapping their wings. _Not the fight of the century, but still a good shot_ , Max thought. Now she wanted to try to get something with the Twin Rocks on it. She probably wouldn't be able to reinvent the wheel by taking a picture of one of the more iconic landmarks on Oregon's coast, but they sure were some cool rocks. Maybe if she tried to catch the sun right through the gigantic hole in the one on the left? That should look pretty good even if it would be even better if the sun was setting and the light had that distinct orange glow. But she'd make do with what she had right now. And there was always the possibility to get back up here by bus if she felt like it. It was just a half-an-hour ride after all. 

"Max!" a voice from behind her back said, and of course it was Victoria, who probably wanted to leave. The brunette turned around, and it sure was Victoria, but to Max' surprise and delight she was holding two cones with soft serve in them. "Fancy some ice-cream?" she asked. 

A moment later both girls went along the shoreline side by side with the water lapping around their naked toes. "I didn't know if you liked strawberry or chocolate sauce on it, so I figured I get both and let you choose.", Victoria said while nibbling on the last bit of the cone with the strawberry sauce. 

Max had gladly settled for chocolate. "That was so sweet of you!" she said with a genuine smile and a small smear of chocolate in the corner of her mouth. "Never in a thousand years would I have imagined you buying me ice-cream!". They were forced to stop for a second as two larger dogs sprinted to the water and cut their path. The seagulls, the roaring of the waves and the crowd on the beach all blended together in the background. Max Caulfield felt very peaceful. 

But her blonde companion looked at her from the side with a strange expression on her face, her lips pressed together tightly. "You really think I'm just some evil bitch, don't you?" she finally said. 

Max' eyes widened and she felt anxiety building up in her stomach. She really didn't want to fight again. The last hour or so had been really nice. But to be honest, Victoria pretty much hit the nail right on the head. She had never thought very highly of Blackwell's queen bee, maybe except her photography, and nor did she have any reason to do so. The posh blonde _was_ an evil bitch most of the time. 

Max took a deep breath. "Well...", she started and a part of her hoped that Victoria would tell her to simply forget it. But she didn't so Max had to go on. "You kinda are mean to me and my friends...pretty much all the time.", she said while trying to avoid Victoria's stare. 

"Yeah, maybe I am mean to you and..." 

_The other losers. She's gonna say 'the other losers'_ , Max thought. 

"...your friends, but that's not because I hate you as a person or something." the taller girl answered in a tone that made clear that she was getting pissed off again. 

"Then why do you do it?" Max asked, and suddenly she felt calmer. She was kind of curious to know what Victoria's reasons were. Or at least what Victoria _thought_ her reasons were. 

The blonde balled her hands to fists and relaxed them again as she seemed to be wrestling for words. "It's...it's this stupid lame ass shy and dorky hipster bullshit show you're pulling. It makes me fucking sick to my stomach." 

Max didn't know what to say for a second. Did Victoria really think her normal behavior was just some sort of trick? 

"I don't get it, I honestly don't." The blonde went on while avoiding Max' eyes. "All the teachers talk about how fucking intelligent and talented you are. And I know they are right!" Victoria started to talk herself into a rage. "But instead of maybe giving a shit and really fucking _work_ you just constantly sit there, look out of the window, scribble in that diary of yours or even take your stupid ass selfies in the middle of the fucking class." 

Surprise, anger and dismay alternated in Max' mind. Was this really what Victoria's bullying was about? 

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I use my phone in class too, who the fuck doesn't, but that never keeps me from being prepared and knowing the answers. So why are you acting that way? Are you trying to get the teachers' sympathy or something?" 

Max closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She didn't know if she found this whole explanation hurtful or completely ridiculous. She knew she didn't want this whole thing to escalate again, as the last hour or so had been pretty much okay. Better than okay, to be honest. Max had caught a glimpse on what it could feel like to be friends with Victoria and she'd kind of liked it in a strange way.

"Okay..." she started speaking slowly. "I'll try not to be angry and take this somewhat seriously. Your whole deal of picking on me is...that you think I'm kind of dishonest and just acting dorky to get sympathy?!" She slowly shook her head and then turned to face the other girl. "I'm not acting, Victoria." Max put her hands on her chest and tried to look and sound as honest as she possibly could. "The shy girl in class who dreams and is sometimes more interested in doing arts and crafts or taking selfies than getting the best possible grades...that's just who I am."

The taller blonde narrowed her eyebrows and looked like she wanted to say something but Max continued: "I know it's not the most clever or efficient thing to do but I can't help it. Maybe I'm still too much of a kid or something. But I'll get there eventually. And I don't think anyone besides myself has the right to judge me for that." She looked at Victoria with quiet determination on her face and the posh blonde's expression slowly relaxed again. 

"Listen, I...", the taller girl started and again Max could see that she tried to find the right words. A complete contrast to her usual behavior in school where she was always confident, always in control and had a quick, sharp and often scathing reply up her sleeve. "I'm sorry, okay? I kinda feel I need to be the best and I don't get it when others don't seem to fucking care that much. When it comes to photography you're my only real rival, maybe besides Evan. You've got real talent, Max. I can see that because I've got it too. And sometimes it feels like your wasting it on cute, worthless shit and that frustrates me." She sighed and rubbed her temple with her right hand while her emerald green eyes were fixed on her feet. "I guess it really isn't any of my business and I'll try to just let you do your thing or whatever." 

The two of them continued walking along the shore in silence and Max didn't really know what to say or do now. This whole trip had been a decidedly strange experience so far. It felt like Victoria was constantly pin-balling between being pissed off, apologizing, opening up a little and making mean little quips and remarks. Every hour of them spending time together seemed to bring up another facet of the other girl's personality that Max hadn't been familiar with. And she slowly started to wonder whether she even wanted to get to know her that well. Sure, it was nice to get a glimpse into the posh blonde's mind but just thinking of her as a mean bully had at least been simple. _No, this is a probably good thing...I think_ , Max thought to herself while taking a very quick look at her companion. 

Then Victoria coughed a little awkwardly and started speaking again: "Sooo...I think we should really get started now before it gets too late." She looked sideways at Max and tried to sound like she didn't care too much. "If you still wanna come, that is." 

Max returned the look and tried to find out how she felt about all the things that had transpired between her and Victoria Chase, not only today but during the last year. _If you still wanna come...but do you, Max? Do you really?_ She looked closely at the other girl, her stylish blonde haircut, her expensive, feminine clothes, the rather small mouth that had said so many mean hurtful things about her, the emerald-green eyes that glistened in the early evening's light... These eyes that had always seemed to only be able to express anger, arrogance and cold...These eyes that now felt nervous and insecure. The ocean roared in the background while there was silence between the two of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I really appreciate any form of criticism, encouragement or friendly banter you might want to share. Every comment will be answered! :)
> 
> PS: Still looking for chapter titles. Any ideas?
> 
> PPS: Work on chapter has begun, but I don't know how long it will take. I sincerely hope you will stick with me nevertheless.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The previous chapter, as summarized by fellow user LanelLabatDubelais:
> 
> "Victoria is trying, she observed Max delighting in her typical candid snapshots of people and seagulls, then made a peace offering with the soft serve cones. Max kind of ruined the mood when she pointed out that she never expected Victoria do something nice like offer Max ice cream. The back and forth about what annoyed Victoria about Max and Victoria's frustration that she has to try so hard to be the best while Max just fritters away her talents spacing out in class and slacking off in her trivial distractions. Victoria saw that she'd crossed the line with Max again and asked if Max still wanted to go with her to Seattle. Max hesitates, even though it's clear to her that Victoria is worried and insecure. Cliffhanger, is Max actually going to bail on Victoria and wait for a bus back to Blackwell?"
> 
> \--------------------
> 
> Hey there! 
> 
> Chapter 3 is finally finished and I can't wait find out what you think of it! :)
> 
> I am aware that my friend badwolv does feature a drive-in scene in his awesome and highly recommendable Chasefield fic 'Strange Love' but I promise the idea with the diner has been in my head for quite a long time now. 
> 
> Anyway, please enjoy! And if you have any constructive criticism in terms of grammatical or narrative structure, please feel free to share.  
> I do enjoy chatting with you guys quite a lot, so every comment is guaranteed to receive an answer. :)

### Chapter 3

American girls, I'd like to  
be part of the world around you  
driving a car by the seaside  
watching the world from the bright side 

_Syd Matters – To All Of You_

 

The car glided effortlessly through the rough, almost unfinished landscape. Rocks and dark green coniferous forest on the right, rugged cliffs, lonely beaches and the Pacific Ocean on the left. The golden light of the evening still shone and set the sea ablaze but it was fading and soon darkness would crawl over the land and obscure everything that wasn't artificially illuminated by fire or electric light. Max Caulfield loved the ocean on this time of the day, or rather the evening, but her eyes were fixed on her right. Fixed on the forest and its branches under which gloomy twilight spread. If she would have wanted to enjoy a view of the ocean she would have had to turn her head and look past Victoria. 

_And I'd kinda like to avoid that for a while_ , she thought.

Ever since they had made their way from the beach back to the parking lot both of them had been very quiet. Max had felt tired, almost exhausted, as if her heart and mind weren't ready to keep up with the pace of the constant emotional back and fourth. She had to be open and nice and forgiving but also confident and ready to stand her ground when Victoria suddenly took another shot at her. How could she just relax and start to form something like a friendly bond, however flimsy, if she had to keep her guard up all the time? Again she wondered what Victoria's game was and if she had to be prepared for a nasty surprise when they arrived in Seattle. 

_I wonder how hard it is to get three gallons of pig's blood out of my hair and clothes?_

The radio had been playing the whole time but Max hadn't paid any attention to the actual music. Only now did she realize that it was Green Day song, Wake Me Up When September Ends, when it was slowly turned down by the driver until it was hardly recognizable. For a moment there was almost utter silence in the car. Max was able to count four Mississippis before the girl on the driver's seat spoke.

"Sooo...." Victoria started only to fall silent for a second. But the she quickly picked it up again. "You and that Warren Graham geek. Are you two, like, a thing or what?" she asked, her fingers tapping on the steering wheel in a rhythm that Max wasn't familiar with, her eyes firmly fixed on the road ahead.

Max started to squirm in the otherwise comfortable seat while heat build up in her cheeks. Victoria's tone wasn't even threatening or something like that. She sounded like a person wanting to break an uncomfortable silence by chatting about harmless stuff. Only that Max didn't feel that her personal acquaintances were a harmless topic one could merrily chat about. Like, normal friendships can be complicated enough, but...but that stuff is even worse. 

"Uhm, why...why would you like to know?!" she asked, struggling to keep the nervousness out of her voice. Somehow she wished Victoria would accuse her of sucking up to teachers again. 

"Oh, puh-leeaase, Caulfield," Victoria answered while shooting her a quick glance that displayed a blend of mild annoyance and slight amusement. "Either you are or you aren't. No need to play the innocent virgin. I won't judge." 

But before Max could actually formulate an answer that would satisfy the blonde, Victoria continued.

"He's always beaming at you when he sees you and you seem to like him too. He has a lot of stupid cutesie nicknames for you. And I do know that the two of you sometimes go to the movies together, which pretty much is a surefire sign for making out, but on the other side I never see you holding hands or kissing in public, so I'm curious. He definitely has the hots for you, so what's the deal?"

_Wowser Victoria...You've been paying close attention, haven't you?!_ Max thought, slightly puzzled. The posh blonde usually acted so nonchalantly but sometimes when her perceptiveness and quick thinking really shone through she would almost seem curious and inquisitive to the point of obsession. But I'm one to talk, she added in her mind, a little self-consciously. In the last year she had been snooping around in Victoria's private things in order to fix some fallout between Juliet and her friend Dana that Victoria herself had instigated. Max had then sneaked into Victoria's room to find proof for Dana's innocence. It had all been very high school drama-esque but it had allowed Max a glimpse into Victoria's tastes and interests. Back then she would have never in a thousand years believed that she'd be one day sitting in the rich girl's car, and even in - relative - peacefulness...

A sudden snap of fingers pulled her back to reality. "Jesus, Max. Spaced out much?" Victoria asked with a smile and a look that glittered with curiosity and a bit of mischievous glee. "Or are you just trying to avoid my question? Come on, just a bit of girl talk between the two of us, I promise." she added playfully in a honeyed voice. 

For a short brief moment Victoria's tone reminded her of another person that used to talk like that whenever she really wanted to know something that Max didn't feel like telling. _Chloe_ , she thought. _She sounds just like Chloe..._

Max shook her head for short moment and forced herself to stop thinking thoughts and feeling feelings. Then she cleared her throat and prepared herself to engage in conversation again. 'Girl talk' with Victoria was definitely better than the guilt trip she had coming for herself otherwise.

"Uhm, sorry, I ..." Max stuttered first, then recovered. "I just thought I'd seen a deer!" she lied which raised a delicate but suspicious eyebrow on her blonde counterpart's pretty face. "Sooo, Warren..." she added hastily. "We're just friends. That's all, I guess." Max said with a shrug and an insecure smile. 

She knew what Victoria meant though. Of course she did. Warren was always incredibly nice to her, always just a short text away when Max needed help with science homework, wanted recommendations on which movies to watch or was just in the mood for plain company and a friendly face. He would often ask her if she wanted to play video games with him (he adamantly insisted that she needed to experience The Last of Us) or go out to movie marathons but he never actually admitted that he wanted her as more than just a friend. On the one hand it was nice not to be pressured into something she didn't want but sometimes, in certain darker moments or bad dreams, Max couldn't shake the feeling that he really...desired her. Brooke, Blackwell's second major science nerd, certainly thought so. Brooke and Max used to be on good terms early on, but the matter-of-fact girl with the red streaks in her black hair had cooled off considerably on her, when Brooke felt that Warren, whom she obviously fancied, 'had the hots for' Max, as Victoria put it. 

"And that's it?" Victoria asked with a little smile and only a hint of suspicion left in her voice. "So no 'Netflix and Chill'. Just chilling...and watching Netflix?!" 

That made Max actually laugh a little and she managed to become more relaxed again. "Yeah, I guess you could put it like that." 

She brushed back a streak of brown hair and set her blue eyes on the blonde behind the steering wheel. "What about you? Anybody special in Victoria Chase's fabulous life? Just between us girls?" she asked with a friendly smile, although she couldn't help but notice a little bit of nervous anticipation building up in her stomach. "Quid pro quo, Agent Chase." she added and and winked.

The girl with the blonde pixie cut tapped her fingers on the steering wheel in a melody that Max couldn't match with any song she knew, frowned a little and curled her lips. She was obviously trying to assess the situation herself. 

"Hmmm...not really." Victoria finally answered. "There's the odd flirt here and there at parties and events and such, you know how it goes." - Max actually didn't know how it went – "But if I'm perfectly honest, Maxine...-"

"It's Max." the brunette whispered automatically.  


"...pretty much all the guys at Blackwell are massive stupid morons." Victoria then shook her head slightly. "No, wait. That's not entirely the case." she added and then paused for what was obviously supposed to be dramatic effect. "Some are also geeky airheads or pathetic fucking losers." The blonde sighed. "I mean, can you believe how fucking useless almost all of them are?! It's like they only have brains so you can't hear the wind howling through their thick skulls. The sad truth is: None of them, not a single one, is worth any time or effort."

Max looked up to the car's roof, laid a finger on her chin and made a point of acting like she was seriously contemplating. "What about..." she started slowly but of course she already knew about which guys she was going to ask. "...the football team? Dudes like Zach?"

She was pretty sure Victoria would shoot her a suspicious look but instead the blonde wit the pixie cut answered right away. "Fucking neanderthal. No chance in hell. Maybe a smooch on the cheek to get him riled up if I felt like it. But even that sounds kinda gross, come to think about it." Victoria frowned and made a disgusted face like she had taken a feisty bite out of a lemon or an onion.

Max chuckled a little. That was pretty much like she herself felt when thinking about kissing a guy like Zach. But maybe not because of the same reasons like Victoria. Her chuckle faded and she went to being a bit more serious. The next part could prove to a little more dangerous. 

"What about -" she started but was immediately interrupted by her taller companion.

"Nuh-uh, Doctor Caulfield!" the blonde said while playfully waving a finger as if she were benevolently admonishing a child. "You had your answer. Now I get to ask the next question. Quid pro quo, as you so elegantly quoted!"

Max smiled a little and nodded in a defeated manner. "Alright. Ask away. But there's really nothing go -"

Again the posh girl in the outfit that probably cost more than Max' entire possessions interrupted her. "Is it Kate Marsh?" she asked. 

Max' heart skipped a beat and she began to blush which Victoria thankfully wasn't able to witness as her eyes were fixed on the strangely lonesome motorway. 

_Oh...dog_ , she thought, stronger anxiety building up inside of her, pressure in her lungs, heat in her cheeks, right after she had been able to relax a bit. Max did not like the direction the conversation had gone to, not a single bit. _What did I get myself into?_

"Do I need to call you Gayfield from now on? Or Queerfield? Or Bifield?" 

Victoria's words still kept that playful tone, alluring and mocking at the same time. They were lacking the razor-sharp edge to her tongue that her voice was able to unsheathe when she really intended to rip into someone whom she chose to see as an enemy or just a worthwhile target for her amusement. Still, if Max happened to identify as LGBTQ or something in between, the nicknames the confident blonde suggested carelessly might have felt mean and hurtful...but that was not why they felt so incredibly threatening to Max right now.

And just as she sat there, unconsciously wringing her hands, when she thought she couldn't handle the pressure anymore, that she had to fall apart completely, collapse into a sweating, mumbling pile of angst...a savior appeared in the headlights of her companion's shiny white hybrid. A savior made of wood and metal and colorful paper, 14 feet high and 48 feet wide.

The billboard said: 'Anderson's Seaside Diner. Best Seafood. Best Burger. Best Steak. 1 Mile ahead.'  
Next to the large, white, curved letters there was a man – A fisherman, judging by his attire, Max thought – who was holding a fork with a prawn pierced on it. The fisherman had dirty blond hair and beard and looked rugged, but smiled warmly and welcomingly. Max instantly thought that this might be one of the most pleasant and likeable smiles she had ever seen, at least under these circumstanced. She reached for the straw. 

"God, Victoria, can we maybe make a stop and grab some food at that diner ? I am _so_ hungry right now!" 

Victoria glanced over to her, frowning slightly, but then she sighed and indicated. "Jeez, if you say so. Wouldn't want you to faint from starvation, skinny hipster." 

Anderson's Seaside Diner sat atop a small hill, nestled to the forest in the bank and with a big, mostly empty parking lot in front of it. The flat building didn't really feel that seaside-ish even though one was able to see the Pacific from across the other side of the Interstate, probably three miles away. Or at least one would have been able to if it hadn't already gotten quite dark. 

_'Anderson's Timber-felling-side Diner' would be more appropriate,_ Max thought as she got out of the car. 

Victoria slammed the driver's door shut and stretched a little, before eyeing the diner in front of them, discontent twisting her pretty features.

"Let's make one thing perfectly clear, Caulfield." she began in a dangerously serious-sounding voice. "If this place gives me food poisoning, I will definitely punch you." 

Max didn't bother to look at the blonde as she calmly answered with an unreadable expression:"At least I won't have to hold your hair if you need to throw up."

The following moment of silence between the two of them was cut short by the cry of some sort of fowl that Max wasn't able to identify. Then they both broke into soft laughter. Max glanced over to the blonde girl that was usually so icy and unfriendly on pretty much every other day. But right now , her features softened by the sudden, honest laughter, she looked more like herself, more like a teenager who was just trying to get by and who grasped for the little bits and pieces of happiness that lay scattered around on the roadsides of life, just like everyone did. 

Victoria caught her look and smiled at her somewhat grimly, the mischievous flicker returning to her emerald eyes. "Chapeau, Caulfied." she said. "Not bad for some lame-ass geek." 

_Aaand there she is again_ , Max thought to herself with a trace of self-consciousness. _Maybe I'm just imagining things. Best not to let your guard down, Max..._

The interior of Anderson's Seaside Diner was obviously strongly inspired by the typical look of the ever-present and always overly glorified 1950s. The good old days of Rock'n Roll, cool guys, pretty girls, fast and shiny cars, a nation shaped in the image of Grease, and not a trace of the anti-communist witch hunts or the looming end of the world by nuclear war...All the Americana that one would expect were here: A jukebox, black-and-white framed photos of famous sports stars and musicians and of course the faux leather seats, only that Mr or Mrs Anderson, whomever he or she might be, ditched the classic red in favor of a more maritime blue. To strengthen the seaside aspect the 50s artifacts were accompanied by some carefully selected items like a fishing net that was fastened to the wall behind the counter and a large anchor made from plastic, with its paint slightly chipped away, that looked like it was lifted from a really dated tunnel-of-horror ride. 

Everything looked a bit cheap and tacky but it reminded Max of the Two Whales in Arcadia Bay, which gave it a subtle warm and familiar feel but also a hint of a bitter-sweet pain. As the two of them sat down on opposite sides of one coffee-stained diner tables she wondered how Grace was. And of course-

"Hopefully I'll at least be able to grab a halfway decent coffee." Victoria said with a sigh, interrupting Max' thoughts as her critical gaze scanned her surroundings mercilessly. 

Max didn't exactly know what to answer – the posh blonde from Seattle's high society probably had rather lofty expectations when it came to decent coffee – nor did she have the time to do so, as a slender figure appeared from the shadowy depths behind the counter. The waitress appeared to be in her mid-twenties and was dressed in black, matching her heavy eye shadow and her hair. Only the apron in blue, embroidered with the diner's name and a stylized silver anchor disturbed the goth chic. Wordlessly she handed them two menus, graced them with a cheerless nod and went off again, probably to brew fresh coffee. Apart from two middle-aged men with beards and trucker hats, Max and Victoria were the only guests. 

"The queen of the night herself is our waitress. And she didn't even have the decency to grant us a 'Hi!' or something like that." Victoria said, not even trying to lower her voice, as she started to read the menu with a disapproving scowl on her delicate features. "Things keep getting better and better."

"Well, she's probably just tired and besides, maybe the food will be worth it?! Let's cut this joint some slag." Max answered cheerfully, but was only rewarded with a cold glare and a risen eyebrow.

"Anyway, back to topic." Victoria said after clearing her throat. Her eyes were still fixed on the menu. "My cronies report that you and Kate, like, occasionally meet up for tea. Is there anything more to it? It's ... kinda suspicious that none of you have a boyfriend, even though the both of you are, let's just say, kinda cute in an unkempt way." Even though her words weren't actually nice her tone was at least a degree more gentle than usual. 

Max closed her eyes. This time she probably wouldn't be able to dodge that particular bullet. But despite of her not being comfortable with talking about her feelings, she was also a bit surprised that Victoria had the nerve to ask her about Kate, since there had been that incident last fall. Kate had been invited to a Vortex Club party and ended up getting really wasted and making up with a number of guys there before passing out. Nathan Prescott of all people even dropped her off at a hospital while Victoria and her friends laughed their asses off and quickly uploaded a video showing the whole scene. Kate was in tears the next few days while the Vortex Club made fun of the 'nun gone wild'...before the test results from the hospital proved that Kate had Rohypnol in her system. Her single glass of wine had been heavily spiked, but the police never found out who did it. Victoria had been on the forefront of calling Kate a slut but quickly went silent and deleted the video once the truth was out. Kate had told Max that she even sent a card on which she apologized. Kate herself believed Victoria while Max had always remained skeptical. The bullying didn't completely stop from there on out, but it got considerably less vitriolic and less frequent. 

"Jeez, Victoria, why do you even care?!" she asked with a sigh. Even if her gut told her that Victoria wasn't simply searching for a new bomb in her 'Weapons of Max-Destruction' arsenal, and even if there was some sort of truce between Kate and the Vortex Club she really didn't want to deal with this right now. 

Her blonde companion tilted her head to the right and looked at her with an unreadable expression for a second. There was no trace of Victoria's trademark mischievous smile on her features. "Max." she began. "I'm just trying to get to know you better." she went on, her voice calm. "Don't you think that's appropriate, if we're spending the weekend together?" 

Their eyes met. A green, somewhere between emerald and olive, reminiscent of the last days of summer in a broadleaf forest, and a light blue, whispering promises of a calm ocean illuminated by a gentle sun. Max didn't know what to answer for a second. Victoria's honesty appeased her and she did have a point. 

She closed her eyes for a moment. "Fine." she said finally, and prepared to construct an answer that would satisfy the rich girl, but her resolve was cut short by a foreboding shadow that fell on the both of them.

"What can I get you two?" the waitress asked with all the lively inquisitiveness of a seventy year old administrative official going through the exact same procedure for the billionth time in his life. Plus added bubblegum chewing.

Victoria shot the waitress – Becky, according to her name tag – an icy glare before sighing dramatically. "Well, _Becky_ , not that I really had the time to go through the menu, but whatthefuckever. I'll have a salad with prawns, whatever you have in terms of low-fat dressing, and a coffee. Good coffee." 

_Geez, Victoria, if you sound any more pissed-off the dressing might be low in fat but high in saliva,_ Max thought and put on a heartwarming smile. "I'd like a bacon cheeseburger with french fries and mayonnaise, and Coke Zero, please."

Becky nodded, equally unimpressed by Victoria's aggressive tone as well as Max' friendly smile, and put their order down on a small notepad before gliding away back into the shadows behind the counter without her steps causing any sound. 

"Bacon cheeseburger, Caulfield?!" Victoria asked with a risen eyebrow. "Don't you, like, worry about what you eat? I only take to a slice of pizza or two when I'm She let out a short, awkward sounding laugh. Victoria's physique was amazing, but she wondered if the posh girl had to put as much work into it as she obviously did into her pictures.

"And I never see you going out for jogging either. And still you're that freakin' petite. Lucky bastard." Victoria shook her head slowly with her lips pressed together to a thin line, but she didn't really sound like she carried another grudge over it. 

"Maybe I'll let you have a bite. If you, dunno, feel like taking chances tonight?!" Max offered with a smile and she was satisfied to see the corner of the blonde's mouth rise a little.

"Maybe I do." Victoria answered with a vague smile after a brief moment of silence. "But you still owe me an answer to the whole Kate Marsh tea dating deal." she added.

Max closed her eyes and tried to conjure up again that resolve that had been shattered by Becky's sudden appearance. _Alright, Maximus. Looks like the moment of truth has finally come...Or has it?!_

She opened her eyes again and looked directly into Victoria's. "We're just friends."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The previous chapter, as summarized by fellow user LanelLabatDubelais:
> 
> " Sooo, Victoria pried out of Max that, in spite of Warren's embarrassing infatuation and attentiveness towards Max, the shy freckle regards him as just a friend. (Brooke doesn't like Max encouraging Warren, he should be more focused on Brooke, instead.) Max did find out that Victoria finds that ALL of the Blackwell males are disgusting, shallow losers, hmm. Max is so dense, didn't it occur to her that Victoria is VERY interested in finding out if Max's sexual preferences match her own?
> 
> Then Victoria drops the bombshell asking Max what is going on with her frequent closeness to Kate? Max stalls by pointing out a roadside diner, but eventually, Victoria presses Max about all of those "tea dates" with Kate. Little liar answers: 'We're just friends.'
> 
> I doubt that Victoria believes that, she studies Max's body language too carefully to ignore the tells. Max is very bad at lying, l believe that Victoria has the answers she's looking for, Max just needs a little nudging to fall for the right girl."
> 
> \--------------------
> 
> Hello, Hello, Hello!!! Yes, I finally did manage to write another chapter and I'm terribly sorry that it took as long as it did. 
> 
> Unfortunately work, university and life don't leave me with a lot of spare time, and writing in L2 sadly doesn't flow as fluently as in L1, at least for me. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this part and I'll see you in the end notes again. :)

### Chapter 4

You can't always get what you want  
You can't always get what you want  
You can't always get what you want  
But if you try sometimes you might find  
You get what you need

_The Rolling Stones – You can't always get what you want_

 

_Someone had left flowers on the window's surface and Max is somehow so very sure that no-one else at Blackwell, no-one else but her has really noticed them. They were white, delicate things, almost transparent, as if they'd been made from dusted glass. The one who had planted them there was actually not a person. It was just Winter. And the flowers were not actually flowers, they were actually ice crystals, and the would disappear again, melt back to water as soon as the sun would shine on them for a few minutes. But Max can't see it in such a mundane way. She can't just rob the poor cold flowers of their magic by explaining everything away. She is just in a flimsy, magical mood and right now everything and everyone feels beautiful and enchanted._

_"Hmmm," a sweet voice hummed. "Doesn't this smell just wonderful, Max? I'm absolutely certain the we picked the right one! Don't you think?"_

_"Yes. I think so too. It smells just wonderful." Max answers, and at least in her ear she sounds a bit distracted, as if her thoughts aren't completely focused on her companion's words._

_And she is distracted. Her eyes watch the delicate wrist and the graceful hand that hold the tea pot. She watches the steam rise up from the pot's spout and softly and warmly embrace the gently smiling face of the girl sitting across from her. Max can't see her eyes because the girl with the dirty blonde hair is keeping them closed as she smells the tea appreciatively. But Max knows their color is hazel, a warm, soft and gentle hazel and she is looking forward to seeing it again._

_Max closes her eyes for a short second to try to snap out of her revery. She knows she should at least try to give her hones opinion on the tea even if her mind is slightly off. So she inhales deeply, her nostrils trembling, and she can now appreciate the chamomile and the lavender and the lemony herbs. It's a bit fruity and a bit flowery and e bit sweet but nothing's too much in the foreground, nothing dominates. It seems to be a gently and mellow tea and it fits perfectly to the person who chose it in the tidy and well-lit tea store in Portland.  
"Are you alright, Max? You seem a bit absent minded?" Kate asks and the hint of honest concern in her voice sends funny feelings through Max' stomach. Kate is always so nice and lovely and concerned with everyone around her, even if she has problems of her own and pressure on herself. And she has great empathy, noticeable by the fact that her asking about Max being absent minded hit the nail on the head._

_Max is absent minded and distracted but not in such a way that she wouldn't be really be in this room. She's very much here, her heart and mind are right here with Kate. But she feels funny and she wonders why. She's never really felt like she does today. Happy and content but also nervous and dreamy and anxious. Her throat feels a bit narrow and her belly harbors butterflies that even the soothing tea probably wouldn't be able to calm down. She remembers a similar feeling from when she was five or six years younger. Feelings she sometimes had when she had been with Chloe. But this one is a little different._

_"Nah, don't worry. I'm fine! Let's drink this bad boy!" she answers merrily and puts on her patented happy, dorky smile. Maybe Kate still wouldn't be able to shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right with her but she would also never try to pressure Max into telling her. She'd be here, patient, gentle, caring; waiting for Max to be ready to tell her. Another thing one had to admire about Kate Marsh._

_Both of them put the cups with the steaming honey-colored tea to their lips in unison. Max smells the lovely fragrance but she has her eyes on the girl with the bun hairstyle sitting on the carpet across from her. Max wants to see her reacting to the taste. Max wants her to enjoy the taste even more than the smell. Because she deserved everything good and pleasant coming her way. For a moment the silence of them both tasting the tea is only interrupted by the soft rustling the bunny makes while hopping about in its cage._

_Kate has her eyes closed and for a moment the fine lines on her forehead show concentration. Then, as slow and dramatic as the rising sun, a smile appears again and she makes an appreciative humming noise. "Hmmmm...so delightful!" she says, and somehow it lets something burst inside of Max._

_"Kate, can I ask you something?" she says a bit hastily and she hates that her heart is beating that much. She hates it and at the same time she doesn't want to calm down._

_"Of course you can, Max. Anything you want!" Kate grins at her as if Max had asked something that was stupid and adorable at the same time._

_"Have you ever..." Max pauses although she'd like to sound more cool and collected but she can't help it. "Have you ever thought about having...like...a friend. A...erm...like...a special friend?"_

_Kate giggles merrily into her hand and takes another sip of the tea. "No need to stutter, Max, I know what you're talking about." she answers and her voice is full of honesty and conviction._

_"Once I have graduated from Blackwell, I will go back home and I'm sure if it's His will, I'm going to find someone to start a family with." She looks slightly upwards as if she could see the path her future will hold on the upper third of her room's wall._

_"I know it might sound really cheesy and old-fashioned and so not cool, but I'm looking forward to it." Her eyes are beaming as she speaks. "A loving and caring husband, one or maybe two or even three happy children whom I can write and draw my little books for. We just have to have a little faith and it will eventually all fall into place. And until then I will concentrate on studying, drawing, spending some time with the kids in the hospital..."_

_She pauses, looks directly at Max again and smiles an honest and open smile. "And, last but not least, drinking tea with my best friend!"_

_Max returns the smile, but at the same time she is feeling like she took a punch to her stomach. How can someone say something so genuinely nice and sweet and at the same time she can't help but feeling hurt? Max tries to concentrate on the different flavors on her tongue, tries to focus on the cute little sounds the bunny is making, tries to think about what photo to take for class, tries to hold back tears. She doesn't want to think about what she had been hoping Kate could answer, what could have happened, what could have been. She desperately wishes that this feeling doesn't mean that she's a shitty person who can't be happy for her friends. And she wishes to never ever, not in a thousand years, have to feel this dreaded feeling of rejection again._

_"That's...some real good tea." she says._

\---------------------------------------------

When Max woke up the bitter-sweet feelings the dream left within her were quickly replaced by confusion and a profoundly more physical sensation: a really unpleasant pain in her neck. She was surrounded by darkness, a smell that she didn't immediately recognize and some piece of furniture she was sitting in and, while totally comfortable, it definitely wasn't her bed. 

_Am I in some sort of car?!_ Max wondered and she tried to chase away the fatigue and the dizziness inside her head. Although confused she wasn't scared at all. With one hand she started massaging her aching neck while using the other to press herself into a more upright position. Now she had a window really close to her face and as she looked outside and saw some small car parking lane she did not recognize, it all came back to her.

 _I am indeed in a car. And not just any car, but Victoria Chase's. Wowser._

She remembered getting really tired after the big bacon cheeseburger at Anderson's Seaside Diner. She had indeed managed to eat the whole thing, including the fries, while Victoria had her salad and shook her head lightly when she was sure that Max would notice it. Max had tried her best to keep the small-talk with the posh blonde in the driver's seat going, but after a few minutes back on the road she had felt her eyelashes becoming really heavy and her answers were quickly reduced to yawning and sleepy mumbling. And then it had all faded away. That whole day had been so surprising and confusing and also a bit fatiguing. Probably because of all the pin-balling her emotions had to endure. Victoria had -

_Thinking about Victoria...Where is she?!_

The driver's seat was empty and on the parking lane on the right side of the car, next to where Max was sitting, her unexpected traveling companion was nowhere to be seen. So she shifted on her seat and took a look around through the windows until she saw the familiar and distinctive blonde pixie cut. And there she was, leaning against the car's trunk. The blonde had put on a some kind of jacket against the cool of the evening, a dark blue velvet blazer, if Max wasn't mistaken. 

_That's what you call these kinds of jackets, right? A blazer?!_

The frame of the girl outside of the car lifted her hand to her face and after a second a small cloud of smoke came up. Obviously Victoria was smoking. Max wondered what Victoria was thinking in that very moment, having a cigarette, leaning against her expensive hybrid, next to a silent and lonely motorway in the middle of the night. Max couldn't see any light from a display so she wasn't even texting. Has there ever been a moment when Victoria Chase was standing somewhere, without any goons or admirers by her side, her hand not holding the latest Apple product and socializing online?

 _Is she thinking about photography? Or fashion? Or status? Or could she be feeling lost and lonely?_

The female figure outside put her hand to her chest, apparently reaching for something inside one of the blazer's pockets. A second later she dropped the cigarette and stepped on it so she could use both of her hands on the item she took from the blazer. Max caught a very short glimpse of something small and tube-like, made from yellow plastic. 

_A pill bottle._ Max realized. _Maybe she just went outside because she has a headache? But then smoking probably wasn't the best idea._

She wondered whether she should step out of the car and join Victoria, but it was really warm and comfortable inside of the car, and maybe the blonde didn't even want any company right now. Max turned around again, held her hand to her mouth to suppress a yawn and then laid back against the quite cozy, pleasantly smelling car seat again. 

_Just gonna rest my eyes for a sec. And when she gets back in, I'm gonna ask her if she's alright._ She thought sleepily.

_"Wake up."_

Suddenly there was a soft and gentle voice faintly vibrating through the heavy velvet curtains of her sleep. Was there really a voice, she wondered, or was this just a part of a dream she didn't actually have.

 _"Wake up, sleepyhead."_

Now she was almost certain that she had heard it. A sweet voice, affectionate in a way that she couldn't really put a finger on. And now there was something else, a sensation on her body. Was it a very soft pat on her left shoulder? Her consciousness slowly rose up through the layers of sleep and her body started to react. Max squirmed on the passenger seat in slow-motion and her eyelashes winked softly. 

"Diyusesomfin?" she tried to ask sleepily before suppressing a yawn and finally opened her eyes to see the person on the driver's seat, still a bit foggy and blurred. Of course it was Victoria, but Max couldn't see the expression on her face clearly yet.

"I said: 'Wake up, Caulfield'." the blonde said in stern tone that now sounded nothing like the sweet and tender voice she thought she had heard in her sleep. Had that just been a dream, or had the sleep somehow altered the sound of Victoria's voice?

Max sat up in her seat and rubbed her eyes. "I'm sorry, I was just sooo sleepy." Then she looked around. There were lights outside the car, and the shapes of rather big houses on her right, while the left seemed rather empty, with somewhat familiar city lights in the distant. "Where are we?" she asked.

"Home." Victoria said while looking straight ahead, her hands still on the steering wheel even though the car was already parked. "And you pretty much slept through half the drive, leaving me to myself. So, thanks a lot, Snoozefield."

"Geez, I'm really sorry, Victoria. I shouldn't have had that burger I reckon." Max rubbed her neck and gave her companion a lopsided smile. "I can get off now, right? My legs could really need some stretching." With that she unfastened her seat belt, opened the passenger door and got off the car.

Now Max was able to see that the somewhat 'empty' space between the street and the lights in the distant was indeed a large body of water. And the lights she could see were of course very familiar to her: It was the skyline of Seattle, which in turn meant that the lake was none other than Lake Washington. She turned around to look at the house in whose front Victoria's foreign hybrid was parked. It was a very modern three story house with a flat roof and impressively large windows. Glass, wood, concrete, shiny metal and a few bricks. Everything felt deliberate, polished and expensive, and Max was able to judge that from a first glance. This wasn't just any single-family home, this was architect-designed. 

"This...this is Lake Washington Boulevard, right?" Max asked, and she couldn't help but feeling awed. This house alone was probably more worth than anything Max' parents ever owned combined. "And this is where you and your family live?"

Victoria had gotten out of the car as well and looked up to the facade of her home. But strangely enough there wasn't any pride in her expression. Instead the blonde pursed her lips.  
"I know it's not Denny-Blaine or Laurelhurst, but what are you gonna do?" she asked and shrugged. "My parents put a lot of resources into the gallery, and the Chase's aren't exactly old money to begin with, so..."

This explanation was uttered in an almost apologizing tone which prompted Max to look at Victoria with large eyes, blinking slowly for a few times, her expression almost stupefied.

"You...you are kidding me, right?" she finally managed to ask incredulously. "This place looks amazing! In comparison, my people's house feels more like an old garage with a radiator. A rusty old radiator. That's not even working half of the time." 

Victoria watched her carefully for a second before a vague and - at least to Max - somewhat sad smile started to shape in the corners of her mouth. "Don't be ridiculous, Max." she said and waved the brunette off. "I'd say you guys are solid middle class, even if it's hard to judge from your choice of clothes." 

Max grimaced and prepared for a hopefully witty return but before she could say something, the blonde went on.

"And besides: I'm sure you have a very warm and caring home and that's the most important part about homes." Victoria said in an honest tone. "Anyway...shall we head in now? Let me show you around a bit and then the both of us can get some sleep. It's been a long day." 

"Sure, let's do this." Max answered with a smile, right after she had hardly managed to suppress another yawn. But Victoria's words echoed in her mind. 

_'...a very warm and caring homes, and that's the most important part...' Sure, she's got a point, but this isn't a very Victoria-esque thing to say, is it? I wonder how it was like, growing up in such an environment like hers._

So both of them got their stuff out of the hybrid's trunk, Victoria's expensive and rather professional suitcase as well as Max' guitar and her old gym bag, which she used when she just traveled over a weekend as opposed to a whole week or even longer. 

As soon as Victoria opened the front door Max was completely sure that the pristine impression the house made from the outside would be continued on the inside. The floor of the hall was about six feet wide and made from large tiles of some sort of dark grey, almost anthracite, and shiny stonework that Max wasn't able to identify. 

_Slate? A darker kind of marble? Something fancy in Italian?_

The walls were colored in a far brighter tone. Almost white, but not quite as there was also a grayish tint noticeable. On the right was a console table with an expensive looking earthenware bowl on it, probably for keys and the like, but there was nothing in it. On the left wall was a large, framed black and white photograph showing a gigantic modern apartment building with a myriad of small windows. The style reminded Max of Andreas Gursky's work, even though this one wasn't in color. The impression it made on her was one of awe but also one of gloom. All these tiny lifes that were hidden behind all those little mirrored windows. She wondered whether the people living there would just feel like bricks in a wall. It certainly made her appreciate her life in Arcadia Bay a bit more. 

"That...is a very cool shot." she said. Max wasn't quite sure if she really liked it, but it certainly had a lot of talent in it. Though it didn't create a welcoming atmosphere for the hall.

"Right?" Victoria answered, standing next to Max and looking at the framed photograph. Her face showed a mixture of focused concentration and a hint of surprise, as if she hadn't paid any attention to that particular picture in a long time. "My parents bought it from a young photographer in the Czech Republic. They had hopes for her, but sadly it was the only decent shot she had to show in her whole career. I guess this was the single one great photo she was capable of..." she said in a thoughtful tone.

Suddenly the blonde cleared her throat and straightened herself. "Right, let's not loiter here. I'll show you the basics and then we can be off to bed."

So they left their luggage in the hall for a moment to continue the tour through the first floor. The theme continued: The floor was made of stone or wood and was kept in dark tones while the walls displayed varying shades of grey or cream. Mr and Mrs Chase obviously enjoyed a monochrome color scheme. The furniture was sleek and modern and looked very expensive, even if Max didn't have the slightest idea on what anything of it would actually cost. Of course the same held true for all the electrical devices. The oven and cooker were state-of-the-art, as was the very large fridge in stainless steel. The TV in the luxuriously spacious living room had at least 75 inches diagonal and would certainly offer an almost cinematic viewing experience, but Max had a hard time imagining the Chase family sitting together and munching popcorn while enjoying one of those cute animated movies that were usually about animals, things or feelings having feelings. 

It was also in the living room where Max got her first glance of Victoria's parents. Another framed photograph in black and white showed the mother, father and daughter together and of course it was a meticulously staged family portrait instead of happy holiday memory. The photo showed both parents standing while a slightly younger Victoria sat on a chair between them. Her hair was maybe an inch longer than she wore it nowadays but obviously her classmate was not one of those girls who tried completely new hair styles every other day. The female in the picture was blonde and wore her hair in a rather strict bun. Her eyes were bright but the smile on her thin lips was faint. Victoria's mother was a beautiful but somewhat cool woman, at least as framed in the picture. The male was tall and bald. He wore rather fashionable square glasses and a neatly trimmed goatee, making him recognizable as an art type. One hand was placed on his daughter's shoulders, but to Max it didn't look very affectionate but possessive.

"Wow, this is your family, right? I think I've never seen them before." Max said in a cheerful tone that she didn't really feel.

"Yes," Victoria began. "Emily and Michael Chase, proud owners of the Chase Space gallery." the blonde said and her expression wasn't particularly happy. "They haven't found the time to visit me at Blackwell yet, which is why you've never seen them." 

"Well, they look..." Max smiled at Victoria and desperately looked for something nice to say that she actually felt and that wasn't a blatant lie. "... very sophisticated!" she finally finished after nanoseconds that felt like minutes to her. 

Victoria answered her smile with a very neutral look until she suddenly started chuckling softly. "I'll let them know you said that. I'm sure they'll be overjoyed to learn that everything is going according to plan."

\-----------------------------------------

A few minutes later Max found herself alone in a spare bed room on the second floor. She was still very tired and the rest of the tour as well as wishing Victoria a good night had just flown past her. The rest had been just as sleek, monochrome and impressive as the first rooms. Everything was pristine past the level of usual cleanness. Probably there weren't even any bacteria there. And maybe it was the fact that it was night and there was no daylight coming in through the large windows, but somehow Max felt that this place sucked the life out of her like those lanky dementor things in Harry Potter. And the bed room that was hers for the next two nights was just as impersonal as the rest, even though she did enjoy the framed photograph over her bed, showing a close-up of an Asian woman in a kimono, her smiling face half buried in fresh flowers. Still, she felt like a foreign object and again questioned her decision to join Victoria on this trip. But now she was in it, and maybe everything would look nicer tomorrow. 

Max took off her sneakers that looked way out of place on these precious floors and threw herself on the large futon bed, which was at least very comfortable. She folded her hands behind her neck, blew a streak of brown hair from her forehead and let her thoughts flow. How much of Victoria's personality was connected to her growing up as an only child in this very house? Or did she manage to carve out her own space with a personality inside her own room? The Victoria Chase Space. She'd probably be able to find out tomorrow. And how much of much of her own, Max Caulfield's personality, was a result of her upbringing in a household that was so very different from this one? She was beginning to feel very sleepy again, but somehow she would have liked to talk to someone. Someone she trusted. 

Max took her cell phone out of her jeans' pocket. She had a few new messages. One by her Mom, expressing her looking forward to seeing Max on Sunday. An Independence Day-related meme by Warren showing Will Smith with a cigar, saying 'Earf. Welcome to it'. And some by Kate.

 **Kate:** Hello Max! Hope you are well! Are you still at Blackwell?

 **Kate:** It's nice to be back home. Have already been to church with my family!

 **Kate:** But I already miss my Max **lol**...Let me know what you are up to! xoxo

Max started smiling and her fingers began to rush over the display, typing her answer. But then her smile slowly faded and the movements of her fingers grew slower until they stopped completely. 

**Max:** Hey U!!! I'm fine! But U won't believe what happened and where Im @ right now! Victoria Chase 

Then her finger rested on the small icon that showed a broad arrow pointing to the left, with an 'x' in it. She deleted the message in the answering field of the app again, as she often did nowadays, locked her phone and put it on the dark wood of the otherwise empty nightstand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I'm aware that there is not actually a whole lot happening in this chapter, but I still hope you liked it and got something out of it. 
> 
> Writing fiction is really strange. I usually just have a very loose plan in my head on what a passage should contain. For example: 'Max and Victoria arrive in Seattle. Victoria shows her the house'. And then things just spread out and before you know it it's a whole chapter and you still feel there's been a whole lot more you could have put in. 
> 
> Well, please make sure to leave a kudos (if you haven't already) and maybe a comment?! That would be really awesome, as I do enjoy chatting with other writers and Life is Strange fans very much! :)
> 
> If you feel like you'd be interested in engaging with me on a more personal level, I've created an E-mail address just for that purpose. So please feel free to send a mail to ChaseHazeWrites@gmail.com. Be friendly and respectful and you're guaranteed to receive an answer by yours truly. :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The previous chapter as summarized by fellow user LanelLabatDubelais:
> 
> "OH! Max's dream-memory of hesitantly asking Kate if she ever had someone that was more than just a friend, only to have her heart pierced when Kate prattled on about someday settling down with the right husband and raising kids. But while she was at school, she would concentrate on her classes and her art, but was grateful to have a "best friend" in Max.  
> Max had lost Chloe to neglect, time and distance, and now she would never have Kate after it was made clear that Max was "friend zoned" by her affectionate Bun-Bun, much like Max herself had rebuffed Warren's misplaced hopes. Why does useless yearning cause so much awkwardness and heartache?
> 
> Now, in that cold museum of a house where Victoria grew up, Max is beginning to understand Victoria's brittle and prickly defensiveness a little better. Victoria's life is cold and lonesome, Max has a warm and caring heart, maybe she should tiptoe over to Victoria's room and cuddle to share her warmth, after all, Max is lonesome, too."
> 
> \--------------------
> 
> Greetings, dear readers! :)  
> Pretty much a month later, and I'm back with another chapter! This one was really fun to write, so I got it done relatively fast, at least for my standards. And also Spring is really kicking in here in Germany so all in all I'm quite happy, and I hope I might be able to share some of this positivity via this chapter! Have fun! 
> 
> Also, if you'd really like to make me feel even better, why don't you leave a comment, sharing your thoughts and maybe even some praise?! I'd highly appreciate it and guarantee an answer. :)

### Chapter 5

Crashin' on Chardonnay and Adderall  
Driving head on into the Wonderwall  
Every day holidays when daddy's gone  
Livin' life like we're the only ones that know we're famous

_Portugal. The Man – Rich Friends_

 

Max Caulfield woke up by the almost tickling sensation of a golden ray of morning sun light falling on her very faintly freckled nose. One moment she was fast asleep and the other she suddenly woke up with the feeling of having to sneeze. She started into an upright position, her eyes wide open, her index finger pointing up. But the titillation in her nose disappeared as quickly and suddenly as it had come but of course now she was very much awake. She was sitting in a bed and wore her oversized pale yellow shirt with a cartoon bumblebee on it as well as checkered boxer shirts. And in contrast to her waking up in Victoria's car last night, this time at least she was completely aware of where she was, even though her surroundings were still very unfamiliar to her. 

_The spare bedroom in the Chase's place. It's a lot nicer by daylight though_ , she thought.

The morning light fell trough white curtains of very high quality fabric, and the illumination gave it an overall warmer tint and feel. The interior had a slight Asian vibe to it, visible in the way the wardrobe's wood was adorned, the geometrical folds of the curtain and a small stone bowl with incense sticks placed in it. And of course the large photograph of the smiling lady over the futon. It barley managed to walk the thin and temporary line between tastefully exotic and awfully tacky. Max felt a lot less intimidated than she did last night, which could also be attributed to the large flat bed and the black sheets being really smooth and comfortable. 

Max closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The air in the room smelled a little bit of apple, probably because of some really well-hidden air freshener. She opened her eyes again and smiled. Somehow Max had the feeling that this could prove be a really good day. Maybe Victoria and herself would finally be able to sort things out between them, without this strange tense atmosphere that had been there yesterday. She felt that she was even looking forward to seeing Victoria, at least if she'd find her in a good mood. Max reached out to the night stand where she'd placed her trusty Polaroid last night and picked it up. The she turned the camera so that it was aimed at her and framed it in such a way that the picture would show her smiling face right in front of the pile of bright flowers the Asian lady in the photograph behind her was sniffing. If she got the angle right, the picture should appear as if the woman was almost burying her face in Max' hair. That should be fun! She pressed the shutter release and was instantly gratified by the familiar and satisfying click her camera made: A sound that she associated a lot of fond memories with and that she'd never get tired of. The camera ejected the undeveloped picture and Max shook it a bit, even though she was aware that this wasn't actually beneficial to the quality of the photo. 

_One day I'll cut that crap...but bad habits die hard, I guess_ , she thought, halfway amused and halfway ashamed of her lack of professionalism.

Max decided to look at the completely finished photo later instead of watching it develop, carefully placed it in on the nightstand and reached for her mobile instead. It was already quite late, 10 o'clock in the morning, and unsurprisingly there were a few messages waiting for her. They were from Warren, who decided on actual text instead of memes this time.

 **Warren:** Hey! Whats going on in the epic  & disturbingly dark life of Maxwell Silverhammer??? 

**Warren:** Haven't heard anything from you yesterday. Got abducted? Should I send Liam Neeson? Or did u get bitten by radioactive spider and therefore had to move to NY???

Max smiled, fell back on the comfortable cushion and decided to answer this time. 

**Max:** Warren Graham, u are a major GOOFBALL! 

**Max:** Im fine! Went to Seattle a little earlier than planned

Then, when she was about to tell Warren why exactly she went earlier, she suddenly paused as another thought crept into her mind.

 _Will Victoria be okay with me telling Warren we're hanging out?_

She bit her lip for a second and tapped her fingers on the upper edge of the phone, suddenly feeling a little uneasy. But then she made her decision. Victoria probably didn't have any doubts herself and had already told Courtney, Taylor, Nathan and God knew whom else about it, presenting Max as a charity case and herself as the good Samaritan.

 **Max:** Im actually at Victoria Chase's place! She said she had nothing on and offered me a ride. Blew my mind! 

Just a few seconds later an answer appeared on her screen.

 **Warren:** U serious?!?!? 

**Warren:** Victoria nice and you 2 hanging? Isnt that some sign of Maya apocalypse or something???

This made Max giggle a little. She could vividly picture Warren going bananas over these news, and for a good reason. It was all still very strange and hard to grasp and if she hadn't woken up in the Chase's house but in her own bedroom in the Ravenna neighborhood she would have been completely convinced that her whole trip with Victoria had been nothing but a particularly unrealistic dream. And, all in all, a nice one, too. She was still a little lost in thought when another text popped up on her screen.

 **Victoria:** Max u up yet?

Directly followed by: 

**Victoria:** Care to join me for breakfast? 

Max' heart started to beat a little bit faster and no one was more by surprised and puzzled by this than Maxine "Max" Caulfield herself, considering the absolutely non-threatening tone and content of the text. She continued her nervous finger tapping on the upper edge of the mobile. There was absolutely nothing mean in Victoria's message, quite the contrary, but there was still a certain nervousness building up.

 _You know why her name popping up on your phone makes you nervous, Max. It's because every time it did in the past, she usually insulted you_ , she reminded herself. 

And her inner voice was correct on that issue. Ever since their photography teacher, the quite famous Mark Jefferson, had insisted on all of them exchanging numbers in case of eventual group projects, Victoria had only texted her on very few occasions. And never for nice reasons. So it was probably only natural that her body would even now, when they were on better terms, still react with anxiety over seeing her name and her little portrait appearing on her screen. So Max just took a deep breath, send a quick text to Warren to inform him that she'd be texting back soon and tried to prepare mentally for what this day and her posh host might have in store for her. 

**Max:** Yup. The bed was super comfy! 

**Max:** Breakfast sounds great! Would like to hit the shower b4 though

And she felt like she definitely needed a shower. A quick scrutinizing pat on her own head told her that her hair was a real mess and after a rather exhausting day yesterday she felt a little bit icky. That could all be a part of her imagination but the want for a shower was definitely there. Hopefully she'd be able to operate the devices in the Chase's bathroom without having her retina scanned or needing to clap something by Beethoven. Max was smiling with little signs of worry on her face when Victoria's answer came up.

 **Victoria:** Reasonable! Make urself @ home  & don't get lost. See u downstairs!

Max nodded at Victoria's approval, got up from the bed ant took her toiletries bag and a towel out of the suitcase. The little green bag with daisies on it contained everything she would need: a brush, shampoo with honey in it, a body-wash that smelled of apples, a lady shaver, tooth paste and tooth brush, q-tips and dental floss. For a moment she paused and wondered why she even brought these things in the first place. Originally she had just planned to go home for the weekend where she still had all the hygienic supplies she could ever want, not even counting those she could borrow or outright steal from her Mom. But whatever her subconscious was scheming when she packed her suitcase yesterday, it certainly came in handy now. Not that she had any doubt that Victoria would also be able to provide her with literally anything the fabulous and oftentimes confusing universe of bathroom items had in store. At least of the expensive variety. 

Barefooted but otherwise appropriately equipped Max left the bed room and went out into the second floor's hallway. From downstairs loud music reached her ear. It was 'Blow' by Kesha. Max took a few steps forward, looked down the hallway and tried to remember behind which of the uniform dark doors the bathroom was that Victoria had told her she could use yesterday before wishing her a good night. Max had been too drowsy and too intimidated by the house's artificial atmosphere to fully pay attention back then and now she did indeed feel a bit lost. She could of course just trod down and ask Victoria again, but she didn't want to come across like some airhead who couldn't even remember information from a few hours prior. 

_Oh well, there's no one home to intrude on. I'll just try a few doors then,_ she thought.

So she stepped up to a door that she felt like could be hiding a bathroom, put a slender, slightly freckled hand on the handle and pushed it down. The door opened noise- and effortlessly, but behind it were no shiny tiles or sanitary installations. What Max saw was a large room, a lot larger than her room in Blackwell or the one in Ravenna, but not as roomy as the living room downstairs. The first quick glimpse showed her a modern couch, a large TV, but also a desk with the latest Apple screen on it, a collage of photos on the wall, adorned with a string of lights, a glass cabinet containing-

 _Shit, this must be Victoria's room!_ Max thought, her heart racing in sudden panic. _I definitely shouldn't be in there without her knowing. She'd be majorly pissed..._

Conscience-stricken she pulled back the door, only to pause once she had almost closed it again. She somehow really wanted to have a closer look, even if it was just for a minute or two. Max kept still for a moment and listened. Kesha had been followed by Nicky Minaj. Yesterday she'd constantly been under the impression that Victoria wasn't completely honest with her. All this flip-flopping between nice and harsh. This whole invitation in the first place. Maybe, if Max had at least a cursory look at her room, she'd be able to get what was the deal with Mr and Mrs Chase's baby daughter.

_Rooms tell a lot about their inhabitants after all..._

So Max bit her lip, took a deep breath and snuck into the room, quickly and silently closing the door behind her. 

_Alright, Seattle Ninja, now make this short and sweet and you'll disappear again like fog at noon before anyone notices anything_ , she told herself and began her little spying mission.

Victoria's bedroom was almost as clean and pristine as the other rooms she'd seen were but it had more signs of life, so to speak. And more color. The first things that caught her eyes were, not unlike downstairs, the large framed pictures on the walls which themselves, by the way, were of such a soft and light rose that they almost appeared white. Strings of lights were arranged around the frames in a very meticulous square fashion. One of the framed pictures was quite familiar to Max, as it was a larger version of a photo she'd already seen: It showed the profile of a bearded man, a doctor, in a white coat sitting on a bench in a hospital. His elbows rested on his knees while his hands supported his forehand. The photo radiated desperation, loneliness but also resolve and an insecure hope. No wonder Victoria had won the 'Everyday Heroes' contest with this. Max herself had never submitted an entry, unsure whether any of her shots were really good enough for the occasion – something that still nagged at her a little, even if Mr Jefferson had stopped berating her for it. Another frame, located above the couch opposite the flat screen TV, didn't contain a photo but a poster instead. It was mostly white but had a naked woman, drawn in Japanese anime style in its center. The woman was on her knees, looking upwards; cables of different sizes came from her back and were also visible under holes in her skin. Her right hand was holding some sort of gun. Some of the lines of text in the lower third were Japanese, others were in English. The title said 'Ghost in the Shell'.

_I think Warren gave me this one as part of his movie collection flash drives . I've never come around to watching it though...and I've never thought of Victoria as being into Anime. Weird._

A third frame contained a reproduction of a famous photo by Richard Avedon that Max immediately recognized. It was black and white, as pretty much all Avedon works were, and it showed a young Barbara Streisand with short, slick, dark hair and bare shoulders who was grabbing the tip of her nose between her thumb and index finger. The composition and dramatic lighting gave grace to even such a rather ridiculous sounding gesture. Avedon was really a master of his craft, and while he wasn't necessarily Max' favorite photographer – she preferred Philip Lorca diCorcia's more colorful works – she respected and admired Avedon's style. The last of the large frames was home to a collage of Victoria's own pictures; some artistic, some mundane. There were even some selfies, which was bit surprising as Victoria had always made fun of Max' own affection for self shots. There were lots of pictures showing Victoria among her friends from the Vortex Club. One was particularly interesting and showed her arm in arm with Nathan Prescott. Both were younger, wore some sort of burgundy colored school uniform with a white blouse or short and a slim tie and looked genuinely happy as they smiled into the camera. The landscape and school building in the background reminded her of New England. Incidentally her parents were nowhere to be seen in this collection of Victoria's private pictures.

The glass cabinet she had seen from the doorstep displayed an assortment of carefully arranged plastic figurines in different sizes. Most of them were females. Max did recognize some of them, for example the dark-haired woman from the 'Ghost in the Shell' poster or three characters from the Sailor Moon TV show she had sometimes watched as a kid. Others were completely unfamiliar to her. 

_Jeez. Looks like Victoria might actually be an even bigger geek than Warren. That's ... kinda charming_ , she thought and smiled inadvertently. 

Now standing in front of the cabinet she turned on her heels to have a closer look at the rest of the room behind her. There was Victoria's bed, not made-up, and it was quite similar to the futon Max herself had been sleeping on in the spare. There was a stuffed animal, a lion, sitting atop the large and comfy cushion, overlooking the rest of the bed as if it was its kingdom. Adjacent to the room were three more doors. One was a casement door that seemed to open up to a small balcony, overlooking the tree-lined garden in the back of of the three story house. The second was a white double door, probably leading into a walk-in closet. The third one was just a regular-looking door and Max had no clue where it would lead to but she thought Victoria might have her own bathroom behind it. Looking around Max noticed something peculiar standing in a corner, just a couple of feet from the neat and tidy desk: It was a mannequin, wearing something like an old fashioned dress. She hadn't seen it at the first glance since the corner was a bit shaded. Max took a few careful steps closer. She didn't know why, but something about mannequins creeped her out. Now that she was closer, she was able to have a better look. The mannequin was quite small, rather imitating the form of a little girl than an adult woman. It was indeed wearing a dress, a well-made one in emerald green, adorned with gold thread and a few decorative bows. It reminded her of the dresses of medieval noblewomen she'd seen on a renaissance fair. Or those worn in plays. And now she noticed that there was something attached to the mannequin's hand: It was another photo. Max got down onto her knees so she'd be able to have a look at the picture without having to touch or remove it from the plastic hand. 

_Is...that you, Victoria?_

The photo showed a stage play. The facade of a house with a balcony was there as a prop and a girl was standing on the balcony. She was probably twelve or thirteen years old and had long, blonde hair flowing over her shoulders. Her face wore a solemn expression as she was looking at a painted moon in the stage set. And she wore the exact same dress as the mannequin standing before Max. Someone had written something on the photo, in a hand that Max knew wasn't Victoria's: "Romeo & Juliet, July 2008". Max got up again and laid a hand on the dress' puffy sleeve to feel the fabric. It was made from linen instead of brocade but it was still pretty well made. 

_You've been Juliet six years ago, and you kept this dress and bought a mannequin to put it on show. This must still mean a lot to you. I wonder why you aren't in the drama club at Blackwell..._

Max stood there for quiet moment, her hand still on the dress' sleeve. She turned her head to take another look around the room. She tried to get a grasp at the atmosphere. The room was sunlit and through a tilted window she could hear the birds sing outside. It felt so peaceful and somewhat less ... calculated than Victoria's room in Blackwell; more personal. And there were still things she didn't look at, like the book shelves or that rectangular wooden box on the desk...

_But I should get going now and have a really quick shower before Victoria wonders what's taking me so long..._

Max left Victoria's room as quietly as she had entered it and was relieved to find out that there was still loud music coming up from the first floor. Eventually she found a bathroom that not only contained a large square bathtub but also a walk-in shower that was huge enough accommodate two or three people without feeling crammed. Trying her best not to get distracted by all the sophisticated luxury surrounding her, Max got undressed and took a shower and a quick shave.

About fifteen minutes later she carefully stepped down the wooden stairs that were comprised of separate steps which were fixed to the wall and had no handrail. Halfway downstairs she could smell something lovely. Apparently Victoria had really prepared breakfast, or maybe she had ordered it. The music was considerably less loud now and Max could here her posh classmate talking to someone, probably on the phone. Upon entering the kitchen she could see that she was right. There was Victoria Chase, leisurely sitting on the granite kitchen island. Her signature pixie cut was a bit ruffled, but in a way that didn't actually seem messy but more like a deliberate out-of-bed look. She wore a long white men's button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up while her long and slender legs were naked and dangling over the kitchen island's edge. Max' eyes automatically zoomed into detail and noticed that the nails on Victoria's fingers and toes were painted in a soft rose color. Max felt a little out of breath, probably because she had descended the stairs too fast, and had to breathe in more deeply and more loud than she would have liked to. Her eyes inadvertently wandered over the blonde's legs again.

_She looks stunning..._

"Yeah whatevs. Just listen up, sluts! I don't care what you have going on this weekend; if you come back from Miami and you haven't brought me anything nice, I will seriously fuck you up, _compris_?" 

Victoria spoke into her mobile in a cheerful but maybe just a little bit sluggish voice. Then she listened for a second and laughed. Her head now turning towards Max, her smile widened a little and she winked. 

"Let's wrap this up. Love you, Coco. Give Taylor a slap from me, will ya? See you soooon!" she fluted and hung up. 

Max almost stepped on her own toes out of awkwardness. First she had maybe kind of invaded Victoria's privacy by snooping around in her room without permission, and now she felt like she had interrupted her call.

"Um, good Morning. I hope I'm not, like ...I mean I didn't mean to -"

"Nah, don't worry about it!" Victoria waved her off merrily and appeared to be in an uncharacteristically sunny mood today. 

She hopped off the kitchen island and now Max could see that there had been a green bottle that appeared to be half empty standing next to Victoria. 

"Good morning, Max!" the blonde said, smiling broadly. "Hope you had a good night's sleep. Ready for breakfast? I like ordered some stuff from a deli that delivers like within an hour so I got a bunch of random stuff 'cause I'm not like too familiar with what you like."

"That's -"

"So I got like honey, some organic chia cereal, strawberries, also organic, honey dew, though I hate that stuff..." she counted with the help of her fingers while putting on a concentrated face. "...grapefruits and a bag of croissants, and I made us fucking banana pancakes too!" 

Max was a just a little bit overwhelmed by all of this. It was almost as if this cheery, babbling Victoria was a completely different person from the one she had spent yesterday with.

"Jeez, that sounds great." Max rubbed the back of her neck, an insecure smile on her face.

"Sooo, have a seat!" Victoria made an inviting gesture towards the dining room where all of the items the blonde had listed were already placed in bowls and on plates.

"You want like a drink or something?" she asked with a suggestive smile while picking up the bottle from the island. "I could make coffee, but in all honesty, this wine right here is _exquisite_!" 

Before even receiving confirmation she poured a generous sip in a glass that looked pretty standard but was probably more expensive than Max' clothes. 

"Um, it's kinda early for me to drink, so I think I'll pass if that's okay with you?!" Max answered. It was nice to see Victoria in such a good mood, but she wasn't pleased that alcohol seemed to have something to do with it.

"You sure?" the blonde asked, putting a hand on her hip, almost being able to hide the disappointment in her voice. "I don't want you to get drunk, but that's a very expensive glass of Chardonnay you're _not_ drinking there."

"Ha ha, well, um...maybe later?!" Max laughed nervously and hoped she would be able to bypass the alcohol altogether. She did have a glass of red wine last Christmas and found it got to her head far too quickly. Max Caulfield was very aware that she was prone to being awkward enough even when sober, thank you very much. And it wasn't even noon.

_I really don't wanna mess with her on this, but let's hope Victoria doesn't overdo it._

"Whatever. More for me." Victoria shrugged. "Let's eat!"

So they both sat down on opposite sides of the dinner table that was decorated with a single flower made from some kind of metal in a white china vase. There were indeed all kinds of fruit placed there in black bowls, a carafe filled with orange juice as well as the mentioned croissants in a surprisingly old-fashioned wicker bread basket. And, last but not least, a large plate with a small tower of pancakes with thick banana chunks in them next to a bottle of organic maple syrup. Max tried her best to keep it cool, but her mouth was watering as she noticed how fresh and delicious everything looked and smelled. 

"Victoria...this is a seriously amazing breakfast! How did you manage all of this so early and without knowing beforehand that I'd even be staying here?" She gave up her restraint and quickly helped herself to a glass of orange juice, some strawberries and a croissant as well as one of the still warm pancakes. Now Max' broad smile wasn't a defense against embarrassment but one of genuine excitement.

"Oh, it's nothing really. Just made a few calls. Planning for Vortex is a little more demanding, you know?!" 

The blonde was obviously trying to sound nonchalant as she reached for half a grapefruit but the little smile in the corner of her mouth was unmistakable. 

Max beamed at her and cut off a little piece of her pancake before smelling it appreciatively.

"God, this smells so good! I sure hope you have batter left, Chase, because I might just eat thirty five of these bad boys!" 

This made Victoria actually laugh a little and Max had to admit to herself what a cute laugh the blonde had if there was no sarcasm or venom in it.

_It makes her really lighten up. I wish I could take a photo now..._

Victoria's smile slowly ceased and her expression became more unreadable as she watched Max eating the fluffy and fruity pancake with a glitter in her summer forest eyes. She put her finger on the smooth surface of the table and began to lazily draw circles and swirls on it.

"Max," she began. "Can I, like, ask you something?"

Max' chewing got slower and she carefully watched Victoria watching her, a slightly uneasy feeling building up inside of her stomach as she wondered what her host was up to now. The way the blonde had asked, Max got the impression that it might have been the introduction to something awkward or slightly painful again.

"Phure!" she answered, the fact that her mouth was still full with half-chewed pancake having escaped her attention for a second. 

An amused smile reappeared on Victoria's delicately chiselled features, accompanied by something that Max' trained eye would normally identify as the hint of a blush. But this was still Victoria Maribeth Chase she was looking at, so it was probably just the wine. 

"Are you..." 

Victoria's question was interrupted by her coughing a little, and she took a sip from the glass of wine. Max' feeling of dread slightly increased. But the blonde now looked directly into Max' ocean blue eyes and asked her question with an air of seriousness, the smile and the blush having been banished from her expression.

"Are you having a good time, Max? With me?"

And although she could sense a certain tension or nervousness in Victoria's question, Max' answer came almost immediately, without her having to think about it a lot.

"Yeah. I really am."

And while her photographer's eye noticed the tension slipping from her companion's feature, replaced with a slowly blooming soft smile, she also noticed that she had actually managed to surprise herself. Sure, Victoria's early morning drinking was a bit irritating, but she actually felt really good. The new day's light had accomplished the task of turning the cold and brittle museum which she had entered the night prior into something a lot more tolerable. And it wasn't just the sunny day, it was also the little things, like learning that the usually cool, perfect and stand-offish girl across from her was actually into Anime figures and still kept props from her drama group days. It was the thought of Victoria running around the kitchen in an oversized dress shirt with slightly ruffled hair, making banana pancakes and maybe singing along to Nicki Minaj. She still wasn't able to make sense out of Victoria Maribeth Chase and what had actually changed between the two of them but she noticed that it was fun to try and find out. And just now that she had said it, it really became true. She was having a good time. With Victoria. 

Both of them, having left their respective flatware on the plates, had their hands on the tabletop now and Max realized that their arms were a little stretched out and their fingers were actually quite close to each other. 

_You seriously need to work on your cardio, Mad Max_ , she admonished herself. _Just...just sitting at the table, eating pancakes, chatting...and it's already getting kinda hard to breathe..._

Victoria was looking into Max' eyes and she slowly started to continue drawing her lazy swirls on the tabletop with her finger, her ever so slightly messy hair shimmering in the golden morning light. 

"Sooo, Max, I was thinking..." she began slowly, a coy little smile on her lips that was really pleasant and also so not Victoria.

"Care for a mid-morning swim?The pool _de la maison_ Chase is all ours, and after our multiple hour trip yesterday we deserve a little carefree fun in the water, don't you think?" she asked, her smile getting a little broader and her eyes sparkling.

"Splish Splash?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup. Still nothing really happening. Make sure to tell me how much you got bored while fighting through this. ;)
> 
> In all honesty, I'd really like to say **thank you** to all of you who have commented, bookmarked and kudos'ed. It's this kind of support that actually encourages me to carry on with this story instead of giving up. :)
> 
> Hopefully chapter 6 will be done by the end of April. I can't really tell how long Taking Chances will be when it's all wrapped up. I still have a lot of material left for their weekend, and up until now everything I wrote turned out longer than I thought it would beforehand. 
> 
> Please leave a comment below, kudos, share and subscribe! :)
> 
> Should anyone be interested in getting in touch with me on a more private level, I do have an email account for writing purposes and general LiS fandom: ChaseHazeWrites@gmail.com


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, chapter 6 is ready to be thrown out there, and it took me less than a month this time! Turns out I can be rather productive on my daily commuting to and from university. And if you, my dear readers, are still in this with me, we can very well call this a win-win situation. :)
> 
> On a more serious note: This chapter was incredibly easy and fun but also incredibly hard to write as a few quite important things happen. There's one scene in particular I had in my head for quite a long time and that was partly responsible for finally pushing me over the edge and finding the courage to try my hand on writing fiction for the first time! With that being said, I would have never believed it'd take me 6 chapters to get to this point. If it was worth it is yours to decide! 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy spring (and / or Easter) and maybe have some nice minutes with my story. :)

### Chapter 6

Yeah look it's me  
The one who can't be free  
Much too young to focus but too old to see  
Hey look it's me  
When no one wants to see  
See what you brought this world just what you want to see  
Hey Ma hey Ma, look it's me 

_Metallica – Prince Charming_

 

The pool Victoria had mentioned wasn't actually located indoors in a traditional sense. Instead its straight and rectangular form – about twelve feet wide and eighteen feet long – was integrated into the terrace's wooden floor boards and stretched out a bit into the grass-covered expanse of the garden. Additionally it was equipped with glass walls, a glass roof and apparently also a an extendable sun-blind. So it was actually more of glass roofed pool than an indoor pool, that could be entered from the living room while the terrace part was accessible from the kitchen. The pool itself was tiled in a black and white mosaic that made an exotic arabesque impression. The water was crystal-clear and perfectly clean and smelt of chlorine, but less intense then one would imagine. 

_Just try to relax, Caulfield_ , Max tried to soothe herself. _No one can actually see you._

Max Caulfield was reclining on a sun-lounger made from wood that matched the floor boards, wearing the navy striped swimsuit she had packed for the occasion and tried not to feel too exposed. Only surrounded by glass and being able to see the blue sky, which was only speckled by a few big and puffy white clouds, didn't make her very comfortable, but the garden was bounded by firs, spruces and such, so there was actually no way curious neighbor's would have a clear view of whomever was going about their business on the Chase's property. 

_I've been lying around for ten to fifteen minutes now. What's taking her so long?_ She wondered, while having a sip from the glass of orange juice she had taken with her from the breakfast table.

After they both agreed on having a swim, her host had suggested to get changed and lie down poolside while she'd get changed herself. 

_"I might need a few minutes, but don't worry, I'll be there eventually."_ Victoria had said with a wink and a somewhat mysterious smile.

Max sat up and pulled her knees to her chest while drinking the deliciously fresh juice. She couldn't help but slightly worry, as was always the case when Victoria did or asked something Max hadn't expected. Her mind conjured up unwelcome images of the blonde suddenly showing up, her goons in tow, pointing at her, cracking jokes, taking pictures with their obscenely expensive cellphones...

_Stop it, she admonished herself._ She's not gonna do something shitty like this. You two are beyond this now. Sure, she's acting a bit weird, but she wouldn't go through the trouble of hanging out with you, driving all evening, being mostly really nice, making pancakes...just to pull such a shabby trick on you, right? 

Besides that she knew that pretty much all of Victoria's close friends were rather far away. Taylor and Courtney were in Miami, and Nathan was probably off somewhere incredibly posh and exclusive with his parents. Max and Victoria were left to themselves and each other's company.  
Still she felt nervous and somewhat anxious and her palms felt sweaty, and that was definitely not just due to the warmth under the glass roof. Max felt like she needed to take her mind off these things for a few minutes, so she grabbed her cellphone, which she had prudently brought down with her. 

Unlocking the phone she immediately saw that she had a message from her Dad – something that always made her lighten up. Max and Ryan Caulfield shared a very good and friendly father-daughter relation. They'd often go to hockey games together and they've even attended a Seattle Seahawks game together once – the home team won and it had been the loudest experience in Max' life up until now. Her Dad was a very relaxed and down-to-earth person even though he didn't always get his daughter's dreamy and artistic personality he was always incredibly supportive.

**Dad:** How are you, honey? Are you already on your way back home? Your mother and I were wondering if you could make it for dinner today? Weather's perfect for throwing some ribs on the grill...

Max wasn't particularly hungry after the opulent breakfast but her Pop did make some pretty good barbecue ribs, especially when they were accompanied by her Mom's home made coleslaw. So it was almost a shame that she had basically agreed to spend the weekend with her pixie-haired rival, pretty much blocking other commitments she could make...

_Unless..._

**Max:** Sounds awesome, Pop! Not sure I can make it though unless I could bring a friend?!

A small, insecure smile snuck on Max' face. She could vividly imagine Victoria sitting on plastic chairs in her parents' backyard, suspiciously nibbling on some sauce-drenched spare ribs, careful not to get any dark-red stains on her designer clothes that would inevitably ruin them. Maybe she'd politely drink a rood beer that her Dad would surely offer her. Victoria would feel very much out of place and out of her comfort zone there, quite like Max herself felt inside the Chase's modern, stylish and incredibly expensive house. But maybe, if she tried, the rich girl could get used to it, could allow her defensive wall of ice get melted down a little by the warm atmosphere of a welcoming home that Max' parents knew to provide so well.

**Dad:** Sure thing, kiddo. Any friend of yours is welcome. Want to start around 5. Please give us a heads up beforehand if you're coming. Love, Dad 

Max would have been surprised if her Dad had said otherwise. Her parents had sometimes asked why she didn't bring along friends of hers more often. During her years in Seattle she only managed to have two friends she'd consider close, Kristen and Fernando. And while she did enjoy hanging out with them she had seldomly invited one of them to her place. Maybe once or twice, for studying purposes. For a brief moment Max wondered how the two of them were doing. Fernando wanted to become a police officer, while Kristen had always dreamed about making it to Stanford or Berkley. Max hadn't heard from either of them for a few months now, nor had they heard from her. But she quickly tried to drown the guilty conscience that was slowly approaching in rationality.

_That's just how it goes when there's too much distance and you don't see each other everyday anymore like you used to. I guess friendships are really just a temporary thing, right? It's something you have in your life for a while until one just has to move on because of the circumstances...It...can't be helped._

There was a familiar feeling of melancholy somewhere in her stomach, like a knot, but it wasn't as big nor as strong as it had used to be. It was something she was able to cope with, to just shove to the sidelines and shift her mind to something else if she felt she needed to. Instead of allowing herself to follow these thoughts she focused on typing an answer and thereby finishing up things about barbecue at her parents'. It was always better to look forward to things instead of reminiscing about the past. About things that just couldn't be changed anymore. As Warren would agree: Time travel sadly just wasn't a thing in this world yet.

**Max:** Will do! See you later. Love u 2!

She had just put the cellphone back on the cast-iron patio table and reclined back on the sun-lounger when she heard the glass door behind her being opened, telling her that her host had finally finished up on her preparations and was ready to join her.

"Hey there!" Victoria's still unfamiliarly cheery voice sounded from behind her.

Max turned her head towards the blonde, a smile on her face. Victoria was wearing a very short black bathrobe in the typical kimono style, that had an italic brand logo on the neckline that Max wasn't familiar with and couldn't decipher on a first glance. Her cheeks were a tint red and she had the Chardonnay bottle with her – only now it was empty. Yet she didn't appear to be reeling in the slightest. Max was quite certain that this had probably something to do with most of the Vortex Club members being pretty good at holding their liquor due to regular training.The blonde took a few long and elegant steps forward, past Max and to the brink of the pool. There she held out the arm holding the bottle and let it go.The green glass made a noticeable splash, quickly filled with water and subsequently sank to the black and white mosaic on the pool's ground. Max watched all of this in silent amazement, severely lacking any understanding of what the posh girl had just done, or better why she had done it. Victoria would have to fish the bottle out again, except her parents felt that empty wine bottles were a stylish addition to the pool's bottom and just haven't thought about it themselves yet.

"Mic drop!" the blonde said, gracefully turned around on her heels in a fluid fashion and winked at Max. "Now let's get this pool party started, shall we?" 

The pixie-cut princess placed her slender fingers on the tightly wound belt of the bathrobe and started to loosen it. When it was open, she straightened her posture so that the robe glided off her shoulders with a soft rustle of fabric. Max' eyes slowly widened. Instead of a one-piece bathing suit like herself Victoria wore a bikini. The top was a regular triangle-shaped halterneck, albeit a tiny bit smaller than what they usually covered. The strings and borders were black while the fabric of the cups that covered the blonde's small breasts was comprised of thin horizontal lines in the colors of the rainbow. Max just wasn't able to keep her eyes from wandering along the taller girl's body, over the cute little belly button and down to the bikini bottoms. And those were what let a small gasp escape from the brunette's mouth. The bottoms were the counterpart to the top: black borders and strings, tied up just above the hip bone, brightly rainbow-colored fabric in the center. But they were significantly skimpier, so skimpy in fact that they left the delicate rising of the _mons pubis_ completely free and only covered up what was absolutely necessary. Victoria apparently didn't tolerate any hair on her body. Max' eyes zoomed into focus and noticed a tiny rectangular made of some shiny metal attached to the upper border of the bikini bottom, probably brand label. Then the blonde made a slow and playful pirouette to allow Max to observe the fact that her derriere was actually left uncovered as well; instead the black strings ran between her firm butt-cheeks. It was in fact a g-string.

"I bought this on trip to Australia last winter. I've never actually worn it in front of anyone. You like it, Caulfield?" 

Victoria's voice came to Max' ear while her eyes were still fixed to the rich girl's slender body. It sounded soft and gentle, yet somehow teasing. Max felt heat rising in her cheeks. The whole glass house felt considerably hotter than a few minutes ago.

"Victoria, I..." Max began but had to lick her dry lips before being able to continue. Her mouth felt incredibly dry, even though she had had a big sip of orange juice just before the blonde had entered. "I don't think this is...um...appropriate?!" she finally managed to finish her sentence. Her voice sounded weak and a little bit scared to her own ears.

"Oh come one, like you haven't seen a girl in a bikini before." Victoria giggled, shifting her weight from one side to the other, a hand on her hip almost like a model striking a pose. "And this one's maybe a wee bit more revealing, but I bet you don't look too different underneath your one-piece, right?"

She took a small step forward, then another one. And another one. Max's eyes, who had been looking at Victoria's face a second before were drawn to the glint of the small and shiny metal brand label at the front of the blonde's g-string as it was bopping upwards with every small step she was making towards the brunette in the sun-lounger until she was standing directly in front of her. There was a gleeful sparkle in Victoria's eyes and a smug smile on her face as she watched Max beneath her. Then she slowly and carefully placed one foot on the sun-lounger, just an inch next to Max' legs. 

_What is she doing??? This is not supposed to be happening!!!_ Max mind screamed in sudden panic.

With every inch Victoria had come closer her own breathe had gotten more and more shallow. Her nipples were painfully erect and pressed against the synthetic fabric of her swimsuit that usually felt so nice on her body. Her stomach felt like it was twisting itself into a Gordian knot, her palms were sweating like crazy and her heartbeat was rapid. So rapid in fact that she almost felt like she'd have to burst any second now. Max Caulfield had never felt so hot and embarrassed and miserable in her whole life. But somehow she couldn't do anything about it. She had lost control over her body and felt like she was paralyzed and unable to shift away, no matter how hard she tried. Not even her eyes were obeying her, instead they remained fixed to the tantalizing movements of the body in front of her. Every millisecond stretched into an eternity. There was something like pain, something that felt like a dragging in her lower body.

"Victoria..." Max aspirated almost without producing any audible sound.

The blonde in the rainbow-colored thong bikini now knelled down on the sun-lounger so that both her knees were placed on either side of Max' lower legs, still without any actual contact between their bodies. She was breathing deeper now, her nostrils moving, her eyes and smile radiating something mysterious. The blush in her cheeks, that Max had suspected to have been caused by the wine, was now deeper than before. Then she lowered her upper body towards the brunette, her hands now on both sides of Max' stomach. Finally Max was able to look into Victoria's eyes again instead of being helplessly captivated by the gentle curves of the blonde's form. Once again ocean blue and summer forest green met, both searching, probing, looking for answers inside the other. Victoria stretched out one hand a bit, so that it landed next to Max' left shoulder, and the left knee quickly followed. She crawled forward above of Max, slowly and carefully like a stalking cat, until her face was almost directly in front of the brunette's. Still no parts of their bodies actually touched. Both of their heavy breaths were the only thing that could be heard under the glass roof.

"It's Gayfield after all, isn't it?" Victoria whispered. Her words were mean, but the soft and gentle tone in which she spoke them betrayed the edge that was perhaps intended. There wasn't even a trace of teasing left. "It's okay." she said. "I understand." she said. "Max, if you want to, you can..."

This was the moment when something inside of Max Caulfield couldn't take the pressure anymore, couldn't take the closeness anymore, couldn't take the subconscious voice anymore that whispered things about her she didn't want to hear. Something inside of her burst.

"NO!" she screamed in Victoria's face that was so unbearably close to her own now. "GET OFF OF ME!"

Victoria's halfway closed eyes were suddenly opened wide and her slight, flirtatious smile turned into an 'O' of utter shock and surprise. She rose backwards from the sun-lounger and staggered back a few steps. Max' eyes quickly filled with tears. Her hands were clenched to fists and pressed to her sternum while she pulled her knees towards her breasts like a child cowering in fear. Her face was red and she looked at the perplexed blonde with reproach in her eyes.

"Why...why did you have to do that?" she managed to ask between sobs. "Why...why are you...so fucking mean?"

Victoria, who had appeared to be so confident, seductive and so completely in control of the situation just a few minutes ago now looked confused, hurt and a bit scared. She was breathing rapidly and seemed to try to keep tears at bay. 

"I...I'm sorry!" she stuttered. "I didn't mean to..." she began but then she just quickly picked up the bathrobe and stormed out through the living room and up the stairs, tears beginning to stream down her face. 

Max was left alone, still unable to lift herself up from the sun-lounger. Her shoulders shook in rhythm with her sobs while she slowly tried to bring her confused body and troubled heart back under control. She thought about nice things, things that were represented in her shots; the one thing she felt she had under control. The one thing she felt she could rely on. Animals. Like a cat on the hood of a car in the sunlight...People. Like a young boy trying to build a sandcastle too close to the waterline... Food. Like a surprisingly good burger late in the evening in an almost empty diner by the interstate... Her tears slowly drained. Her breath became a bit more calm. But her heartbeat refused to slow down.

_It's so unfair..._

\--------------------

 

Max Caulfield stood in the hallway of the second floor, just in the same spot she had stood in a few hours before, and looked at the plain anthracite-colored door. She was already dressed, wearing a gray t-shirt with a green tree design on it, her converse and dark-blue skinny jeans. In her hand she held her suitcase. She was pretty much ready to go, ready to leave this place and with that hopefully all those twisted feelings behind her as well. But there was something holding her back. So she was standing there and looking at this particular door for what must have been a few minutes already but felt even longer to her. She couldn't hear anything from inside of the house or the room in front of her, but she had already noticed that the walls and doors were pretty much soundproof. The Chases apparently enjoyed their privacy and did not appreciate any objectionable noises disrupting their efforts nor their leisure, thank you very much.

_Just go. Leave it be. She'll understand you've gone home. No need to be so fucking polite_ , she told herself.

But she didn't just leave. Instead she sighed deeply but then straightened herself and knocked at the door with purpose. This time she didn't want to appear as meek or timid. This time she was serious...even though her emotions were still in turmoil. The knock was answered after a short moment of continued silence. 

"Max." Victoria's faint voice sounded broken and defeated. "Please come in. It's open."

Max' fingers embraced the handle, but she stopped for a second to check whether she really wanted to face the blonde again. But there was no turning back now. So she pushed the handle down and stepped inside of Victoria's room that, unbeknownst to its owner, wasn't completely unfamiliar to her. And there she was: Victoria Chase, queen bee of Blackwell, _primus inter pares_ of the Vortex Club, model student for some, merciless bully to others...sitting cross-legged on her bed. She wore silky pink pyjamas that had a cute cartoon Eiffel Tower on them, on the left of her chest. A caption next to it said: _Oui Oui Paris!_ Her eyes were reddened and her hair seemed messed up, and not in the cute and deliberate way it had looked when they had met for breakfast. It was clear that she had cried, and probably a lot. She had a miserable look on her face when she looked at Max. Max herself tried to appear as indifferent as she could. This charade needed to come to an end.

Victoria took a deep breath and began: "I'm so sorry, Max. What happened down there -"

"Shut up, Victoria." Max interrupted her, and the blonde's mouth immediately closed, her eyes widening a bit in surprise.

She let her suitcase fall down to the floor next to her and crossed her arms and looked at the other girl with a frown.

"I don't wanna talk about that."

_Whatever happened down there doesn't matter much now. It's not important. It doesn't matter, Max told herself with all the conviction she could muster. It was just...another way of messing with you._

"I want to know what's the deal with you." she said. "I've been your victim at Blackwell pretty much since day one. And I know for a fact I've never done anything to you to deserve any of that. So why the bullying?" Max raised her arms and looked around for a second. "Look at all of this. You've got everything. You're rich, talented and pretty, so why do you feel like you need to screw with me all the time? The stuff you said at Rockaway Beach, about me supposedly sucking up to the teachers by playing the dorky hipster?! I don't buy this shit anymore. Just tell my why you keep screwing with me!"

Victoria closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She looked pale and like she was just a bit short of shaking. Max was almost certain that she'd just scream at her to fuck off, and that would be the end of the story. And maybe not even the worst one at that. But the blonde didn't scream at her. Instead she spoke in a quiet and sad voice. Max had seen tiny glimpses of a sad Victoria before, but what happened next could have been her at her most honest.

"Max," she began. "Do you remember what you told me at the beach yesterday? I do. Like, every single word." And then she opened her eyes again and quoted what Max had said the day before, even imitating her tone, but not in a mocking way. " _The shy girl in class who dreams and is sometimes more interested in doing arts and crafts or taking selfies than getting the best possible grades...that's just who I am_. Those were your words. And I believed you, Max, although there's more to you." 

A self-conscious and melancholic little smile appeared on her face. "Would you like to know who I am? The fucked-up rich kid who can't help but attack anyone she feels even slightly threatened by, because she can't get over her insecure self. That's just who _I_ am." Then she laughed a little, but there was no trace of humor to be heard. Only bitterness and remorse.

There was a moment of silence between the two of them. Victoria clearly tried to control her emotions while she watched Max' face, searching for a reaction. Max meanwhile looked at her without any visible sign of either approval or rejection in her expression. At least the frown had softened. She made a few steps until she reached the foot of the bed. She stood there for a moment, looking uncertain, before finally sitting down. She looked straight forward, at the framed photograph on the other side of the room. 

"Go on." she simply said, before adding: "Please."

"Everyone keeps me telling me how fucking talented I am." Victoria said, and desperation dripped from her voice while her eyes started to feel with tears again. "But sometimes I just don't feel it. I've send some of my photos to a gallery. They didn't want them." She inadvertently clenched her hands to fists, her knuckles turning white. "Maybe I had just too high expectations, but just when I feel I'm in a good place and that I could just fucking chill for a moment, someone comes along who's prettier, smarter, more talented. And I can't afford to be second place. I know the art business, Max. My parents told me. I don't wanna be like that photographer from Czech who did this one good shot and now she's probably working in a fucking store selling crappy digital cameras to fucking amateurs."

The blonde sobbed in silence for a moment, trying to keep her tears in check but was ultimately unable to do so. Max wrung her hands in her bosom, a tightness building up in her throat, making it hard to swallow. 

_So much insecurity, so much pain...I never knew..._

"And then there was you, Max." Victoria finally said, her eyes fixed to her own hands that slowly relaxed. "It's like you're floating through the hallways and the school yards, Max. Listening to you hipster music, your eyes so bright and open and looking at birds and squirrels and shit." A little smile reappeared on her expression, the tears having drained for moment. "You have real talent, Max. Mark noticed right from the start. That's why he's always pushing you. If you put just a bit more care into it, you'd be way better than me. And that scared the shit out of me. So I treated you like shit." 

Again Victoria started to sob and again the tears came back. And that was the moment when Max noticed something about herself. She didn't feel the need to disappear. She didn't want to leave, to run away from this sadness. And it wasn't out of a sense of rightful satisfaction over the posh girl's confession. It wasn't because Victoria was talking about her. 

"You probably don't know, but pretty much everyone at Blackwell thinks you're so cool. Because you do your thing, and you are who you are. Friendly, kind, dreamy... Even my girls would become your friends in an instant if you just tried to talk to them. And I know. So I tried to hate you. I wanted to hate you." 

_Friendly and kind, you say...Yeah, I guess that's what it looks like._

The blonde's voice became more quiet and now it felt as if she was rather talking to herself than to Max. There was something strange in her tone, something like a sense of wonder. She reminded Max of a scientist who had spent half their life searching the solution to a certain problem and was just now, out of the blue, closing in on the answer within their own heart.

"And you wanna know what's the saddest and most pathetic part? I can't hate you. I just can't. And I'd never tell anyone because I'm too scared of losing fucking losing face, but ... "

She turned her face back towards the brunette on the foot of the bed and now her voice was shaking again, but her eyes were clear, as if the tears had been a shower of rain that washed away the dust that might have clouded her vision. Eyes that would always remind Max of a forest late in Summer.

"I'm so fucking sorry for everything I've done to you...But deep down I just really, really really want to be your friend."

Now it was Max' turn to clench her hands to fists in her bosom. There it was again, this shadow of guilt that she so valiantly ignored most of the time. She felt the pressure building up inside of her throat, like cold hands that gently but mercilessly started to choke her, and the tears rising as images of familiar faces, and one face in particular, flashed before her inner eyes.

"Maybe...maybe I'm not such a good person myself. Maybe I'm a horrible friend..."

Victoria moved closer on the bed, hesitated for a second...and then laid her hand on Max' own. It felt cool. Calming. Like it somehow belonged there.

"Max...", Victoria said.

Max turned her head towards the blonde and smiled, while tears started to trickle down her freckled cheeks.

"Would you maybe like to join me at my parents' barbecue? My pop's making spare ribs."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that escalated quickly...
> 
> This had my first bit of smut in it, if you will, though I tried to keep it tasteful. Please let me know if that part worked for you and if you'd like it if things maybe got a bit more saucy, or if you prefer a rather innocent approach to such a young romance. In the end I'll write it as it feels right to me, but I'd very much appreciate your feedback! 
> 
> By the way...over 300 kudos! I feel so honored and it makes me genuinely happy to get so much great and positive feedback! Please, please, please keep it coming! :)
> 
> Bonus questions for anyone who'd like to make my day by posting a comment! 
> 
> 1\. Where are you from?  
> 2\. What's your favorite food?  
> 3\. One-piece swimsuits or bikinis - which do you prefer on a) yourself and/or b) your significant other?
> 
> Should anyone like to get in touch on a more private level or would like to send me lengthy essays on why Taking Chances sucks and Pricefield is the superior ship, please feel free to send an e-mail to ChaseHazeWrites@gmail.com
> 
> Have a wonderful time and I'll hopefully see you in the comments! :)


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